COMPLETE 




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Cop}'iiglitN" 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



FOSTER'S COMPLETE BRIDGE 



FOSTER'S Complete 
Bridge 



* *. • .V 



BY 



R. F. FOSTER 

Author of Foster's Bridge Manual, Foster's Bridge Tactics 

Foster's Bridge Maxims, The Gist of Bridge, and 

Inventor of the Self-Playing Bridge Cards 




NEW YORK 

McCLURE, PHILLIPS & CO. 

MCMVI 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two Copies Recefved 

DEC 28 1905 

Copyrteht Entry 
rcUSS Ck. XXC. Wo. 






Copyright, 1905, by 
McCLURE. PHILLIPS & CO. 



Published, December, 1905 



PREFACE 

While a large number of books have been written 
on the game of Bridge, none of them is complete in 
itself, each having been apparently w^ritten with a 
view to advance some particular theory of the game, 
or to introduce some scheme of play which the author 
has found to suit his own case, or to win in the circle 
in which he moves. 

A convention which one writer advocates, another 
condemns. A rule which one author considers good 
enough for all purposes, another finds defective in 
many instances, and so on. In order to become thor- 
oughly familiar with all the various styles of play 
which one is likely to encounter at the bridge table, 
it would be necessary to purchase and read at least 
half a dozen books on the subject, and even then, 
many things would be found that were not clear, 
• others that were skimmed over, and many that were 
not touched upon at all. 

A writer on Bridge, in his anxiety to defend his 
own pet theory, usually devotes so much space to 



vi PREFACE 



it that he entirely omits many points which it is 
important for every bridge player to know, and 
almost every author falls into the error of taking 
it for granted that the reader knows certain techni- 
cal terms and details which, in fact, he does not 
know. 

The present work is an attempt to remedy these 
defects, and to gather into one volume not only every- 
thing that the purchaser of a text-book wants to learn, 
but everything connected with the game, whether it 
is particularly valuable or not. A player may not be- 
lieve in defensive spade makes, but he should know 
that there are such things, and what he must expect 
from a partner or adversary who adopts that theory. 
He may not believe in the discard from strength, but 
he should be familiar with the arguments for and 
against it, and know how to play his hand when op- 
posed to it. A text-book on bridge, to be complete, 
should be such that its owner can find within its 
pages a full explanation of anything connected with 
the game. 

In the following pages, every theory of play is 
illustrated by a hand which is played completely 
through, so that the tactics of one side may be seen 
opposed by the tactics of the other side, the proper 
defence to each attack being shown. 



PREFACE vii 



These illustrations are not tucked away in an ap- 
pendix at the end of the book, but are set in immediate 
proximity to the paragraphs which they illustrate, just 
as the pictures in a novel would be placed. 

The method of presenting the subject is such that 
the reader may either take it seriously, as a text-book, 
and study it as he would any other science, or he 
may use it simply as a book of reference to refresh 
his memory or to improve his knowledge on some par- 
ticular point. The reader is put in possession of all 
the mechanical elements of the game: all that part 
of it which can be played by rule, without the exercise 
of any wonderful powers of inference or cunning. A 
mechanically sound game will always win against un- 
trained brilliancy in the long run. If one knows the 
makes and the leads ; knows what cards to play second 
hand in order to protect one's self and get the most 
out of the adverse suits; knows how to pick out the 
best suit to play for and how to manage it; knows 
when to lead trumps and how to lead them, and when 
to leave them alone, one is far on the road to being 
a finished bridge player. 

The deeper tactics of the game, its finer strategy, 
and the variations which are necessary against players 
of different calibre, are not things that can be taught 
by a book. They are for the personal teacher, who 



viii PREFACE 



can watch his pupil's progress, and set him tasks that 
are within his powers. 

The method of presenting the subject is that which 
has been found the most successful in personal teach- 
ing, and the author trusts it will be found equally 
valuable as a text-book, being based on the true peda- 
gogical principle : few rules but many examples. 



New York, October, 1905. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Preface v 

Index to the Illustrative Hands .... xi 

Historical 3 

The American Laws of Bridge 8 

Description of the Game . 30 

Value of Various Hands ....... 42 

Advantage of the Dealer 49 

The Dealer's Declarations 53 

The Dummy's Declarations 75 

Declaring to the Score 81 

Defensive Declarations 85 

Doubling and Redoubling 91 

Leading, when there is a Trump . . . .102 
Leading, when there is No Trump . . . .114 

The Card to Lead . . . ., 127 

Leading Through Dummy 144 

Third-Hand Play, with a Trump . . . .152 
Third-Hand Play, at No Trumps . . . .162 

The Eleven Rule 169 

Unblocking 178 

ix 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Leading Up to Dummy i86 

Discarding 196 

Second Hand Play 208 

The Dealer's Play, with a Trump . . . .218 

Importance of the Score 233 

The Dealer's Play, at No Trump .... 240 

Holding Up the Command 241 

Keeping the Lead 244 

Selecting the Suit to Play For 247 

Finessing 253 

False Cards . 260 

Underplay and Ducking 263 

The Management of Re-Entries . . . .266 

Varieties of Bridge .275 

Auction Bridge 275 

Dummy Bridge 276 

Duplicate Bridge 279 

Progressive Bridge 288 

Bridge Tournaments, and How to Manage 

Them 290 

Key to the Test Hands ........ 297 

Bibliography of Bridge Works 305 

Glossary of Technical Terms 311 

Index. 319 



INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS 



Declaring 

NO. PAGE 

I. Showing the Dealer's Advantage .... 51 



Doubling 

2. With the Strength on the Right . . . . 95 

3. With the Strength on the Left . . . . 97 

Leading, Trumps Declared 

4. Holding the Lead to See Dummy . . .105 

5. Leading Trumps Originally 107 

6. Forcing the Strong Trump Hand . . . .109 

Leading, No Trumps Declared 

7. Leading the Longest Suit 117 

8. Leading the Shortest Suit 119 

9. Not Leading a Short Suit 121 

10. Leading Low from High Cards . . . .123 

xi 



• 



xii INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS 

NO. PAGE 

11. Leading Red in Preference to Black . .125 

12. Leading Without Re- Entries 141 

Leading Through Dummy 

13. Wanting a Lead to Dummy's Weakness . 147 

14. Not Wanting a Lead to Dummy . . . .149 

15. Killing Dummy's Re-Entries 151 

Third Hand, with Trumps 

16. Down-and-Out, Showing Dealer Cannot Ruff 159 

17. Down-and-Out, Showing Dealer is Short . 161 

Third Hand, No Trumps 

18. Showing Number by the Echo 163 

19. Showing the Suit You Want Led . . . .165 

20. Reading the Partner's Hand 167 

The Eleven Rule 

21. Finessing Against Dummy 173 

22. Detecting. Weak Suits Led 175 

Unblocking 

23. Giving Up High Cards 179 

24. Getting Out of Partner's Way 181 

25. Unblocking by the Dealer 183 



INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS xiii 



Leading Up to Dummy 

NO. , PAGE 

26. Not Returning Partner's Suit 189 

27. Leading to Dummy's Weakness . . . .191 

28. .Leading Trumps Through the Strong Hand 193 



Discarding 

29. Discarding the Suit You Want Led . . .199 

30. Discarding Strength . .201 

31. Discarding Weakness 203 

32. Discard Showing Re-Entry 205 



Second Hand Play 

;^^. Covering with High Cards 211 

34. Covering by the Eleven Rule 213 



35 
36 

37 
38 

39 
40 



Dealer's Play, Trumps Declared 

Getting Out the Trumps 219 

Getting Rid of Losing Cards First . . .221 

Making Losing Trumps First 225 

Not Leading Trumps 227 

Getting Position for Trump Leads . . .229 
Ruffing Out Suits . .231 



xiv INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS 



NO. 
41. 

42. 



Importance of the Score 

Counting Up the Tricks, with a Trump 
Counting Up the Tricks, at No Trump 



PAGE 

235 
237 



43 

44 

45 
46 

47 
48 

49 
50 
51 



Dealer's Play, No Trumps Declared 

Holding Up Command of Adverse Suits 
Keeping the Lead in One Hand . . 
Selecting the Suit to Play For . . . 

Getting Position 

Showing the Advantage of Finessing . 
Ducking Unestablished Suits ... 
The Management of Re-Entry Cards 
Making Re-Entries in Either Hand . 
Preventing Being Led Through . . 



243 

245 

249 

259 
261 

265 

267 

269 

271 



FOSTER'S COMPLETE BRIDGE 



HISTORICAL 

Of the origin of bridge very little seems to be ac- 
curately known, but it would seem to be a combination 
or outgrowth of various other games, notably geral- 
asch, Siberia, and preference. A game very like 
bridge has long been popular in Holland, and all the 
elements of it are to be traced in many of the older 
games of cards. 

The name is supposed to be derived from the word 
*^ biritch," and that is popularly believed to be a Rus- 
sian word, but there is no such word in the Russian 
language; at least none that has any meaning, such 
as the Russian name ^^ vint,'^ for a game very much 
like bridge; vint meaning a screw, and referring to 
the process of screwing the players up to higher bids. 

Bridge is generally credited to the East, and is 
said to have long been popular in Constantinople, 
Smyrna, and South-eastern Europe. Persia gave us 
the game of poker, why should not Turkey give us 
bridge ? 

The exact dates at which the game was first played 
in the various English-speaking countries in which it is 
now so popular are rather difficult to ascertain. We 

3 



COMPLETE BRIDGE 



have a number of disconnected facts which throw some 
light upon the subject, but nothing definite except the 
dates of its introduction to some of the more promi- 
nent card-playing clubs. 

The most authentic record we have of the first ap- 
pearance of the game in America is the fact that its 
principles were explained to some members of the New 
York Whist Club by Mr. Henry I. Barbey in the 
spring of 1893, and that it soon became so popular 
with some of the members that they wished to play 
it to the exclusion of whist. To this the other 
members do not seem to have been willing to agree, 
insisting that whist should be the only game in the 
club. 

To carry their point, about thirty members of the 
club resigned in the latter part of 1893, and secured 
rooms over Brown's Chop House in 28th Street, 
which had previously been occupied by the Manhattan 
Whist Club. These quarters not being sufficiently 
commodious for the rapidly increasing number of 
those who liked the new game, they moved to 28 
West 30th Street, which was really a part of the 
Gilsey House. In March, 1894, ^^^Y formed The 
Whist Club of New York, now generally known as 
The Whist Club. From the Gilsey House they 
moved to 11 West 36th Street, occupying the entire 
house. 

Under the able management of a particularly effi- 



HISTORICAL 



cient board of directors, their prosperity continued to 
increase until they were able to purchase the house 
next door, 13 West 36th Street, the club's present 
home. Under the direction of Mr. Clarence A. 
Henriques, the club's secretary, the new building was 
completely refitted with especial reference to its pur- 
pose, with the result that it can boast of the finest 
card-room in the world, perfectly lighted and ven- 
tilated, and fitted up with every convenience imag- 
inable. 

It was in this club, while still at 11 West 36th 
Street, that the first game of duplicate bridge was 
ever played. The members were divided in opinion 
as to its attractions, the chief fault being that the 
tournament was conducted too much on the lines of 
the old duplicate whist matches, which gave the score 
for honours too much prominence. 

It is worthy of note that although bridge was the 
most popular game in this club from the time it split 
off from the New York Whist Club in 1893, it was 
two years after the removal of the club to 1 1 West 
36th Street before bridge was officially recognised by 
an alteration in the by-laws, and it was not until 
1897 ^hat the club printed its first official code of 
laws for the game, with a few hints for play at the 
end. These laws have since been several times re- 
vised, the last edition being issued this year, 1905, and 
they are now generally accepted as the standard in 



COMPLETE BRIDGE 



the United States. By kind permission of the club, 
the code is given in full in this work. 

Bridge seems to have found its way into England 
at a much earlier date, which is quite natural, owing 
to the large number of card-players from the East 
who visit London every year. The Encyclopaedia 
Britannica states that bridge was first played in Eng- 
land about 1880, but the circumstances are not given. 
The rules of the game were printed and published 
in London in 1886, under the title of " Biritch, or 
Russian Whist.*^ The game was undoubtedly pretty 
well known in 1892, but apparently did not find its 
way into the Portland Club until 1894, fourteen 
years after its introduction into England. Even then 
the members seem to have discovered it by accident, 
one of their number forgetting to turn up the trump 
at whist, and explaining the irregularity by saying he 
thought he was playing bridge. Upon being asked 
what bridge was, we are told that he expressed some 
astonishment at the ignorance of his fellow members, 
the Portland being then the leading card club in 
London. 

The first duplicate game of bridge ever played in 
England was a private tournament held at The 
Priory, in Warwick, on April 15, 1904, in which 
thirty couples took part, the highest score being made 
by two Americans, Mr. and Mrs. C. T. Garland. 

There is probably no better evidence of the popu- 



HISTORICAL 



larity of bridge than the extent of the literature of 
the game. Since the rules were first published in 
London in 1886, no fewer than fifty-six standard 
works on the game have appeared, while thirteen 
magazine articles have been devoted to more or less 
accurate descriptions of the game, besides regularly 
contributed articles by recognised authorities explain- 
ing its principles and discussing its tactics. 



THE AMERICAN LAWS OF BRIDGE 

The Rubber 

1. The rubber is the best of three games. If the 
first two games be won by the same partners, the 
third game is not played. 

Scoring 

2. A game consists of thirty points obtained by 
tricks alone, exclusive of any points counted for 
honours, chicane or slam. 

3. Every deal is played out, and any points in 
excess of thirty points necessary for the game are 
counted. 

4. Each trick above six counts two points when 
spades are trumps, four points when clubs are trumps, 
six points when diamonds are trumps, eight points 
when hearts are trumps, and twelve points when there 
are no trumps. 

5. Honours are ace, king, queen, knave, and ten of 
the trump suit; or the aces when no trump is de- 
clared. 

8 



LAWS OF BRIDGE 



6. Honours are credited to the original holder and 
are valued as follows: 



Declaration. 



Each Trick above Six 
^ 1^ 3 Honours 



O 



(All in one hand) 

(4 in one hand) . 

(All in one hand) 

Chicane. . , 



^ 


4k 


■^ 


1 


2 


4 


6 


8 


4 


8 


12 


16 


8 


16 


24 


32 


16 


32 


48 


64 


10 


20 


30 


40 


18 


36 


54 


72 


20 


40 


60 


80 


4 


8 


12 


16 



No 
Trumps 



12 

30 

40 

100 



Rubber 100, Grand Slam 40, Little Slam 20. 

7. If a player and his partner make thirteen tricks, 
independently of any tricks gained by the revoke 
penalty, they score slam and add forty points to the 
honour count. 

8. Little slam is twelve tricks similarly made, and 
adds twenty points to the honour count. 

9. Chicane (one hand void of trumps) is equal in 
value to simple honours, ue,j if partner of player 
having chicane score honours he adds the value of three 
honours to his score, while, if the adversaries score 
honours, it deducts an equal value from theirs.* 

10. The value of honours, slam, little slam or 

* Double chicane (both hands void of trumps) is equal in value to four 
honours, and the value thereof must be deducted from the total honour 
score of the adversaries. 



10 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



chicane is in no wise affected by doubling or re- 
doubling. 

11. At the conclusion of a rubber the scores for 
tricks and honours (including chicane and slam) ob- 
tained by each side are added, and one hundred 
points are added to the score of the winners of the rub- 
ber. The difference between the completed scores is 
the number of points won or lost by the winners of 
the rubber. 

12. If an erroneous score affecting honours, chicane 
or slam be proved, such mistake may be corrected at 
any time before the score of the rubber has been made 
up and agreed upon. 

13. If an erroneous score affecting tricks be proved, 
such mistake must be corrected prior to the conclusion 
of the game in which it has occurred, and such game 
shall not be considered as concluded until the fol- 
lowing deal has been completed and the trump de- 
clared, unless it be that the game is the last one of 
the rubber — then the score is subject to inquiry until 
an agreement between the sides (as to the value of 
the rubber) shall have been reached. 

Cutting 

14. The ace is the lowest card. 

15. In all cases every player must cut from the 
same pack. 



LAWS OF BRIDGE n 

1 6. Should a player expose more than one card, he 
must cut again. 

Forming Tables 

17. If there are more than four candidates, the 
players are selected by cutting, those first in the room 
having the preference. The four who cut the lowest 
cards play first. 

18. After the table is formed, the players cut to 
decide on partners; the two lowest playing against the 
two highest. The lowest is the dealer, who has choice 
of cards and seats, and who, having once made his 
selection, must abide by it. 

19. Should the two players who cut lowest secure 
cards of equal value, they shall recut to determine 
which of the two shall deal, and the lower on the 
recut deals. 

20. Should three players cut cards of equal value, 
they cut again; if the fourth card be the highest, the 
two lowest of the new cut are partners and the lower 
of the two the dealer; if, however, the fourth card be 
the lowest, the two highest on the recut are partners 
and the original lowest the dealer. 

21. Six players constitute a full table, and no player 
shall have a right to cut into a game which is com- 
plete. 

22. When there are more than six candidates, the 



12 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



right to succeed any player who may retire is 
acquired by announcing the desire to do so, and such 
announcement shall constitute a prior right to the 
first vacancy. 

Cutting Out 

23. If at the end of a rubber admission be claimed 
by one or two candidates, the player or players having 
played a greater number of consecutive rubbers shall 
withdraw; but when all have played the same number, 
they must cut to decide upon the outgoers; the 
highest are out. 

Rights of Entry 

24. A candidate desiring to enter a table must de- 
clare such wish before any player at the table cuts a 
card, either for the purpose of commencing a fresh 
rubber or of cutting out. 

25. In the formation of new tables, those candi- 
dates who have neither belonged to nor played at any 
other table have the prior right of entry. Those who 
have already played decide their right of admission 
by cutting. 

26. A player who cuts into one table while belong- 
ing to another shall forfeit his prior right of re-entry 
into the latter, unless by doing so he enables three 
candidates to form a fresh table. In this event he may 



LAWS OF BRIDGE 13 



signify his intention of returning to his original table, 
and his place at the new one can be filled. 

27. Should any player quit the table during the 
progress of a rubber, he may, with the consent of 
the other three players, appoint a substitute during his 
absence; but such appointment shall become void with 
the conclusion of the rubber, and shall not in any 
way affect the substitute's rights. 

28. If any one break up a table, the remaining 
players have a prior right to play at other tables. 

Shuffling 

29. The pack must neither be shuffled below the 
table nor so the face of any card be seen. 

30. The dealer's partner must collect the cards for 
the ensuing deal, and he has the first right to shuffle 
the cards. Each player has the right to shuffle subse- 
quently. The dealer has the right to shuffle last, but 
should a card or cards be seen during his shuffling, 
or while giving the pack to be cut, he must reshuffle. 

31. Each player, after shuffling, must place the cards 
properly collected and face downward to the left of 
the player next to deal. 

The Deal 

32. Each player deals in his turn; the order of 
dealing goes to the left. 



14 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



33. The player on the dealer ^s right cuts the pack, 
and, in dividing it, must not leave fewer than four 
cards in either packet; if in cutting or in replacing 
one of the two packets a card be exposed, or if there 
be any confusion of the cards, or a doubt as to the 
exact place in which the pack was divided, there must 
be a fresh cut. 

34. When the player whose duty it is to cut has 
once separated the pack, he can neither reshuffle nor 
recut the cards. 

35. Should the dealer shuffle the cards, after the 
pack is cut, the pack must be cut again. 

36. The fifty-two cards shall be dealt face down- 
ward. The deal is not completed until the last card 
has been dealt face downward. 

37. There is No Misdeal. 

■ • 

A New Deal 

38. There must be a new deal — 

a If the cards be not dealt into four packets, one 
at a time, and in regular rotation, beginning 
at the dealer's left. 

b If, during a deal, or during the play of a hand, 
the pack be proved incorrect or imperfect. 

c If any cards be faced in the pack. 

d If any player have dealt to him a greater num- 
ber of cards than thirteen. 

e If the dealer deal two cards at once and then 
deal a third before correcting the error. 



LAWS OF BRIDGE 15 



/ If the dealer omit to have the pack cut and the 
adversaries call attention to the fact prior to 
the conclusion of the deal and before looking 
at their cards. 

g Should the last card not come In its regular 
order to the dealer. 

39. There may be a new deal — 

a If the dealer or his partner expose a card. 
Either adversary may claim a new deal. 

b If either adversary expose a card. The dealer 
may claim a new deal. 

c If, before fifty-one are dealt, the dealer should 
look at any card. His adversaries have the 
right to see it, and either may exact a new 
deal. 

d If, in dealing, one of the last cards be exposed 
by the dealer or his partner, and the deal is 
completed before there is reasonable time for 
either adversary to decide as to a new deal. 
But in all other cases such penalties must be 
claimed prior to the conclusion of the deal. 

40. The claim for a new deal by reason of a card 
exposed during the deal may not be made by a 
player who has looked at any of his cards. If a 
new deal does not take place, the card exposed during 
the deal cannot be called. 

41. Should three players have their right number 
of cards, the fourth have less than thirteen and not 
discover such deficiency until he has played any of his 



i6 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



cards, the deal stands good ; should he have played, 
he, not being dummy, is answerable for any revoke he 
may have made as if the missing card or cards had 
been in his hand. He may search the other pack for 
it or them. 

42. If, during the play of a hand, a pack be proven 
incorrect or imperfect, such proof renders only the 
current deal void, and does not afiect any prior score. 
The dealer must deal again (Law sSb). 

43. Any one dealing out of turn or with the ad- 
versaries' cards must be corrected before the play of 
the first card, otherwise the deal stands good. 

44. A player can neither cut, shuffle, nor deal for 
his partner without the permission of his opponents. 

Declanng Trumps 

"^45. The trump is declared. No card is turned. 

a The dealer may either make the trump or pass 

the declaration to his partner. 
b If the declaration be passed to partner, he must 

declare the trump. 

46. Should the dealer's partner make the trump 
without receiving permission from the dealer, either 
adversary may demand, 

1st. That the trump shall stand, or 

2d. That there shall be a new deal ; 
provided, that no declaration as to doubling has been 



LAWS OF BRIDGE 



17 



made. Should the dealer's partner pass the declaration 
to the dealer it shall be the right of either adversary 
to claim a new deal or to compel the offending 
player to declare the trump ; provided, that no declara- 
tion as to doubling has been made. 

47. The adversaries of the dealer must not consult 
as to which of the penalties under the foregoing law 
shall be exacted. 

48. If either of the dealer's adversaries make a 
declaration, the dealer may, after looking at his hand, 
either claim a new deal or proceed as if no declaration 
had been made. 

49. A declaration once made cannot be altered. 

Dowbling, Redoubling, etc. 

50. The efJect of doubling, redoubling, and so on, 
is that the value of each trick above six is doubled, 
quadrupled, and so on. 

51. After the trump declaration has been made by 
the dealer or his partner, their adversaries have the 
right to double. The eldest hand has the first right. 
If he does not wish to double, he may ask his partner, 
''May I lead?" His partner must answer, ''Yes" 
or " I double." 

52. If either of their adversaries elect to double, 
the dealer and his partner have the right to redouble. 
The player who has declared the trump shall have 



i8 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



the first right. He may say, " I redouble " or *' Sat- 
isfied." Should he say the latter, his partner may re- 
double. 

53. If the dealer or his partner elect to redouble, 
their adversaries shall have the right to again double. 
The original doubler has the first right. 

54. If the right-hand adversary of the dealer double 
before his partner has asked "May I lead?" the 
maker of the trump shall have the right to say 
whether or not the double shall stand. If he decide 
that the double shall stand, the process of redoubling 
may continue as described in paragraphs 52, 53, 55. 

55. Whenever the value of each trick above six 
exceeds one hundred points there shall be no further 
doubling in that hand, if any player objects; the 
first right to continue the redoubling on behalf of a 
partnership belonging to that player who has last re- 
doubled. Should he, however, express himself satis- 
fied, the right to continue the redoubling passes to 
his partner. Should any player redouble out of turn, 
the adversary who last doubled shall decide whether or 
not such double shall stand. If it is decided that the 
redoubling shall stand, the process of redoubling may 
continue as described in this and foregoing laws 
(52 and 53). If any double or redouble out of turn 
be not accepted there shall be no further doubling in 
that hand. Any consultation between partners as to 
doubling or redoubling will entitle the maker of the 



LAWS OF BRIDGE 



19 



trump or either adversary, without consultation, to a 
new deal. 

56. If the eldest hand lead before the doubling be 
completed, his partner may redouble only with the 
consent of the adversary who last doubled; but such 
lead shall not affect the right of either adversary to 
double. 

57. When the question, ** May I lead?" has been 
answered In the affirmative, or when the player who 
has the last right to continue the doubling expresses 
himself satisfied, the play shall begin. 

58. If the eldest hand lead without asking permis- 
sion, his partner may only double If the maker of the 
trump consent. If the right-hand adversary of the 
dealer say, "May I play?" out of turn, the eldest 
hand does not thereby lose the right to double. 

59. If the right-hand adversary of the dealer lead 
out of turn, the maker of the trump may call a suit 
from the eldest hand, who may only double If the 
maker of the trump consent. In this case no penalty 
can be exacted after the dummy hand or any part of 
It Is on the table, since he (dummy) has accepted the 
situation. 

60. A declaration, as to doubling or redoubling, 
once made cannot be altered. 



20 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

Dummy 

6i. As soon as the eldest hand has led, the dealer's 
partner shall place his cards face upward on the 
table, and the duty of playing the cards from that 
hand shall devolve upon the dealer, unassisted by his 
partner. 

62. After exposing his cards, the dealer's partner 
has no part whatever in the game, except that he has 
the right to ask the dealer if he has none of the suit 
to which he may have renounced. Until the trump 
is declared and the dealer's partner's hand is exposed 
on the table, he has all the rights of a player and 
may call attention to any irregularity of, or to demand, 
equally with the dealer, any penalty from, the adver- 
saries. 

63. If he should call attention to any other incident 
of the play, in consequence of which any penalty 
might be exacted, the fact of his so doing precludes 
the dealer exacting such penalty. He has the right, 
however, to correct an erroneous score, and he may, 
at any time during the play, correct the claim of 
either adversary to a penalty to which the latter is 
not entitled. He may also call his partner's attention 
to the fact that the trick has not been completed. 

64. If the dealer's partner, by touching a card or 
otherwise, suggest the play of a card from dummy, 
either of the adversaries may, but without consulta- 



LAWS OF BRIDGE 21 



tion, call on the dealer to play or not to play the card 
suggested. 

65. Dummy is not liable to the penalty for a re- 
voke; and if he should revoke and the error be not 
discovered until the trick is turned and quitted, the 
trick stands good. 

66. When the dealer draws a card from his own 
hand, such card is not considered as played until 
actually quitted, but should he name or touch a card 
from the dummy hand, such card is considered as 
played, unless the dealer in touching the card or cards 
says, " I arrange," or words to that effect. 

Cards Exposed Before Play 

67. If, after the deal has been completed, and be- 
fore the trump declaration has been made, either thfe 
dealer or his partner expose a card from his hand, 
either adversary may, without consulting with his 
partner, claim a new deal. 

68. If, after the deal has been completed, and be- 
fore a card is led, any player shall expose a card, his 
partner shall forfeit any right to double or redouble 
which he otherwise would have been entitled to exer- 
cise; and in case of a card being so exposed by the 
leader's partner, the dealer may either call the card 
or require the leader not to lead the suit of the ex- 
posed card. 



22 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

Cards Exposed During Play 

69. All cards exposed by the dealer's adversaries 
are liable to be called, and such cards must be left 
face upward on the table. 

70. The following are exposed cards: 

1st. Two or more cards played at once. 

2d. Any card dropped with its face upward, or in 
any way exposed on the table, even though 
snatched up so quickly that no one can name 
it. 

3d. Every card so held by a player that any 
portion of its face may be seen by his part- 
ner. 

71. A card dropped on the floor or elsewhere be- 
low the table is not an exposed card. 

72. If two or more cards be played at once by 
either of the dealer's adversaries, the dealer shall have 
the right to call which one he pleases to the current 
trick, and the other card or cards shall remain face up- 
ward on the table and may be demanded at any time. 

73. If, without waiting for his partner to play, 
either of the dealer's adversaries should play on the 
table the best card, or lead one which is a winning 
card, as against the dealer and dummy, or should 
continue (without waiting for his partner to play) to 
lead several such cards, the dealer may demand that 
the partner of the player in fault, win, if he can, the 



LAWS OF BRIDGE 23 

first, or any other of these tricks, and the other cards 
thus improperly played are exposed cards. 

74. If either or both of the dealer's adversaries 
throw his or their cards on the table face upward, such 
cards are exposed and are liable to be called; but if 
either adversary retain his hand he cannot be forced 
to abandon it. Cards exposed by the dealer are not 
liable to be called. If the dealer should say, '' I have 
the rest," or any other words indicating that the 
remaining tricks are his, he may be required to place 
his cards face upward on the table. The adversaries 
of the dealer are not liable to have any of their cards 
called should they expose them, believing the dealer's 
claim to be true, should it subsequently prove false. 

75. If a player who has rendered himself liable to 
have the highest or lowest of a suit called (Laws 82, 
91, and 100) fail to play as directed, or if, when called 
on to lead one suit, leads another, having in his hand 
one or more cards of the suit demanded (Law 76), 
or if called upon to win or lose a trick, fail to do so 
when he can (Laws 73, 82, and 100), he is liable to 
the penalty for revoke, unless such play be corrected 
before the trick is turned and quitted. 

Leads Out of Turn 

76. If either of the dealer's adversaries lead out of 
turn, the dealer may either call the card erroneously 



24 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



led, or may call a suit when it is next the turn of 
either adversary to lead. 

77. If the dealer lead out of turn, either from his 
own hand or from dummy, he incurs no penalty; but 
he may not rectify the error after the second hand 
has played. 

78. If any player lead out of turn and the other 
three follow him, the trick is complete and the error 
cannot be rectified; but if only the second, or second 
and third play to the false lead, their cards may be 
taken back; there is no penalty against any one except 
the original offender, who, if he be one of the dealer's 
adversaries, may be penalised as provided in Law 76. 

79. In no case can a player be compelled to play 
a card which would oblige him to revoke. 

80. The call of an exposed card may be repeated 
at every trick until such card has been played. 

81. If a player called on to lead a suit have none 
of it, the penalty is paid. 

Cards Played in Error 

82. Should the fourth hand (not being dummy or 
dealer) play before the second has played to the trick, 
the latter may be called upon to play his highest or 
lowest card of the suit played, or to win or lose the 
trick. 

83. If any one, not being dummy, omit playing to 



LAWS OF BRIDGE 



25 



a former trick, and such error be not corrected until 
he has played to the next, the adversaries may claim 
a new deal; should they decide that the deal stands 
good, the surplus card at the end of the hand is con- 
sidered to have been played to the imperfect trick, but 
does not constitute a revoke therein. 

84. If any one (except dummy) play two .cards to 
the same trick, and the mistake be not corrected, he is 
answerable for any consequent revokes he may have 
made. If during the play of the hand the error be 
detected, the tricks may be counted face downward, in 
order to ascertain whether there be among them a 
card too many ; should this be the case, the trick which 
contains a surplus card may be examined and the card 
restored to its original holder, who (not being dummy) 
shall be liable for any revoke he may meanwhile have 
made. 

The Revoke 

85. Should a player (other than dummy) holding 
one or more cards of the suit led, play a card of a 
different suit, he revokes. The penalty for a revoke 
takes precedence of all other counts. 

86. Three tricks taken from the revoking player 
and added to those of the adversaries shall be the 
penalty for a revoke. 

87* The penalty is applicable only to the score of 
the game in which it occurs. 



26 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



88. Under no circumstances can the revoking side 
score game, slam or little slam that hand. Whatever 
their previous score may have been, the side revoking 
cannot attain a higher score toward game than twenty- 
eight. 

89. A revoke is established if the trick in which 
it occurs be turned and quitted, i.e., the hand re- 
moved from the trick after it has been gathered 
and placed face downward on the table; or if either 
the revoking player or his partner, whether in his 
right turn or otherwise, lead or play to the follow- 
ing trick. 

90. A player may ask his partner if he has no card 
of the suit which he has renounced; should the ques- 
tion be asked before the trick is turned and quitted, 
subsequent turning and quitting does not establish a 
revoke, and the error may be corrected unless the 
question be answered in the negative, or unless the re- 
voking player or his partner has led or played to the 
following trick. 

91. If a player correct his mistake in time to save a 
revoke, any player or players who have followed him 
may withdraw their cards and substitute others, and 
the cards so withdrawn are not exposed cards. If the 
player in fault be one of the dealer's adversaries, the 
card played in error is an exposed card, and the dealer 
can call it whenever he pleases; or he may require the 
offender to play his highest or lowest card of the suit 



LAWS OF BRIDGE 27 

to the trick in which he has renounced; but this 
penalty cannot be exacted from the dealer. 

92. At the end of a hand the claimants of a revoke 
may search all the tricks. If the cards have been 
mixed the claim may be urged and proved if possible; 
but no proof is necessary, and the revoke is established 
if, after it has been claimed, the accused player or his 
partner mix the cards before they have been sufficiently 
examined by the adversaries. 

93. A revoke must be claimed before the cards have 
been cut for the following deal. 

94. Should the players on both sides subject them- 
selves to the revoke penalty neither can win the game 
by that hand. 

95. The revoke penalty may be claimed for as many 
revokes as occur during a hand; but in no event can 
more than thirteen tricks be scored in any one hand. 
(See Law 7.) 

General Rules 

96. There should not be any consultation between 
partners as to the enforcement of penalties. If they 
do so consult, the penalty is paid. 

97. Once a trick is complete, turned, and quitted, it 
must not be looked at (except under Law 84) until 
the end of the hand. 

98. Any player during the play of a trick, or after 



28 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

the four cards are played and before they are touched 
for the purpose of gathering them together, may de- 
mand that the cards be placed before their respective 
players. 

99. If either of the dealer's adversaries, prior to 
his partner's playing, should call attention to the 
trick, either by saying it is his, or, without being re- 
quested so to do, by naming his card or drawing it 
toward him, the dealer may require that opponent's 
partner to play his highest or lowest card of the suit 
led, or to win or lose the trick. 

100. Should either of the dealer's adversaries, dur- 
ing the play of a hand, make any unauthorised refer- 
ence to any incident of the play, or should he call 
his partner's attention to the fact that he is about 
to play or lead out of turn, the dealer may call a suit 
from the adversary whose turn it is next to lead. 

lOi. In all cases where a penalty has been in- 
curred, the offender is bound to give reasonable time 
for the decision of his adversaries; but if a wrong 
penalty be demanded none can be enforced. 

102. Where the dealer or his partner has incurred 
a penalty, one of his adversaries may say, '' Partner, 
will you exact the penalty or shall I?" but whether 
this is said or not, if either adversary name the penalty, 
his decision is final. 



LAWS OF BRIDGE 29 



New Cards 

103. Unless a pack be imperfect, no player shall 
have the right to call for one new pack. If fresh 
cards are demanded, two packs must be furnished and 
paid for by the player who has demanded them. If 
they are furnished during a rubber, the adversaries 
shall have their choice of the new cards. If it is the 
beginning of a new rubber, the dealer, whether he 
or one of his adversaries be the party calling for the 
new cards, shall have the choice. New cards must 
be called for before the pack be cut for a new deal. 

104. A card or cards torn or marked must be re- 
placed by agreement or new cards furnished. 

Bystanders 

105. While a bystander, by agreement among the 
players, may decide any question, yet he must on 
no account say anything unless appealed to; and if he 
make any remark which calls attention to an over- 
sight affecting the score, or to the exaction of a 
penalty, he is liable to be called on by the players to 
pay the stakes on that rubber. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME 

For the beginner, unfamiliar even with the ordinary 
procedure of the game, this chapter may be useful. 
Those who are already conversant with the methods 
of play may pass it over. 

Bridge is played with a full pack of fifty-two cards, 
which rank from the A, K, Q, down to the deuce. 
In cutting, the ace is the lowest card. Two packs 
are generally used. During the deal the still pack 
is shuffled by the player sitting opposite the dealer and 
placed on the left of the person whose turn it will 
be to deal next. 

The scores are kept on a sheet of paper, or pads 
specially printed for the purpose, no satisfactory 
mechanical bridge marker having yet been invented. 
Each player may keep his own score, or it may be 
agreed that one person shall keep it for the table. 

Bridge is played by four persons, and if there are 
more than four candidates for play, the selection 
must be made by cutting, the four lowest having the 
privilege. Partnerships are then decided by cutting, 
the two lowest pairing against the two highest, the 
lowest cut of all having the choice of seats and cards 
and the privilege of the first deal of the rubber. The 

30 



DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME 31 

usual method of cutting is to spread the pack face 
downward on the table and draw cards from it. 

If two players cut cards of equal value and these 
two cards are the highest, it does not matter; but if 
they are the two lowest, they must cut again to decide 
the tie for the first deal. If the ties are intermediate 
cards, they must cut again to decide which shall play 
with the original low, but the original low always 
retains his right to the first deal. When three players 
cut cards of equal value, they must cut again. If the 
fourth was higher than the ties, the two lowest of 
the new cut are partners, and the lower of them deals. 
If the fourth card was lower than the ties, it holds 
the deal, and the two highest of the new cut are 
partners. 

Partners sit opposite each other, and their positions 
at the table are known respectively as dealer and 
dummy, eldest hand and pone. 

Dummy 



Eldest Hand A B Pone 




Dealer 

For convenience in indicating the position of the 
various players in illustrative hands and diagrams, the 
eldest hand and his partner are known by the first 
two letters of the alphabet, while the dealer and his 



32 



COMPLETE BRIDGE 



partner are known by the last two; so that Z is al- 
ways the dealer and A always leads for the first trick. 
The eldest hand and his partner are frequently spoken 
of as " the adversaries." 

After the players have taken their seats, the dealer 
shuffles the cards and presents them to the pone to be 
cut. He then distributes them one at a time, face down 
and in rotation from left to right, until each player 
has thirteen. 

No trump is turned. 

All irregularities in the matter of cutting, shuffling, 
and dealing will be found fully dealt with in the laws 
of the game. 

The dealer has the privilege, after examining his 
cards, of announcing any suit he pleases for the trump, 
or to play without a trump. He usually says, '' I make 
it hearts," or, '^ This is a no-trumper." There being 
a great difference in the value of the declarations that 
the dealer may make, he has the privilege, if his 
cards are not good enough to justify him in making 
a declaration that will profitably advance his score, 
of passing the make over to his partner by saying, 
'' I leave it to you, partner." The dealer having once 
declined to make it, his partner must make the selec- 
tion. All such announcements by the dealer or his 
partner must be made without any consultation be- 
tween them. 

After the trump has once been legitimately an- 



DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME 



33 



nounced by the dealer's side, the adversaries cannot 
change it no matter what cards they hold, but they 
may increase the value of the points to be played for 
by " doubling." 

As soon as the declaration has been made, the eldest 
hand looks at his cards to see how they suit him. If 
he thinks that he is strong enough, with average as- 
sistance from his partner, to make the odd trick, even 
after the dealer has selected the trump to suit his 
own hand, he can double the value of the trick points, 
although he cannot change the trump. The usual ex- 
pression is, '' I double," or " I go over," or " I make 
hearts worth sixteen." The refinements of doubling 
will be found fully explained in a later chapter de- 
voted to the subject. 

If the eldest hand does not wish to double, he must 
say to his partner, " Shall I play? " This means, '' Do 
you want to double, or shall I lead? " In answer to 
this the pone must either double himself, if he feels 
strong enough to do so, or he must say, '' If you 
please." Beginners should accustom themselves to this 
conversation of the game as quickly as possible, so 
as not to delay matters at the table, and they should 
be especially careful never to play without first asking 
the partner's permission to do so. 

After the eldest hand has asked, ''Shall I play?" 
and has been answered in the affirmative, or after the 
doubling, if any, is finished, he may lead any card 



34 



COMPLETE BRIDGE 



he pleases for the first trick. As soon as this card is 
on the table the dealer's partner must lay his thirteen 
cards face upward in front of him, sorted into suits, 
the trumps to the right. From then on the dealer 
must play the exposed hand and his own, his partner 
becoming a dummy who is not allowed to take any 
part in the play, nor to offer any suggestions nor make 
any remarks, further than to ask his partner if he 
has none of a suit to which he renounced. This he 
should always be most careful to do; *^ No spades, 
partner? " being the usual formula. The dummy may 
also protest against the adversaries claiming a penalty 
to which they are not entitled, and may call attention 
to a trick which is not complete. 

Each player must follow suit if he can. The high- 
est card played, if of the suit led, wins the trick; 
trumps win all other suits, and the winner of one 
trick leads for the next one, and so on, until all thir- 
teen tricks are taken. 

The dealer gathers the tricks for his side, keeping 
them separate, so as to be readily counted. Either 
adversary may gather for his side, but one of them 
must gather all the tricks on the same side of the 
table. After one side has taken six tricks, they are 
bunched together and form what is known as the 
" book.'' These first six tricks won by the same 
partners do not count, but every trick over the book 
counts toward game, and these tricks over the book 



DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME 35 



must be kept separate so as to be easily seen and 
counted. 

The game is thirty points. These points are made 
by attaching a certain value to each trick over the 
book, according to the suit which has been announced 
as the trump. 



When Spades are trumps . . . 
When Clubs are trumps . . . 
When Diamonds are trumps 
When Hearts are trumps . . . 
When there are No Trumps 



2 points 

4 points 

6 points 

8 points 

1 2 points 



The number of tricks taken over the book are 
spoken of as so many ^' by cards." For example: if the 
dealer and his partner won eight tricks in hearts, 
they would be '' two by cards," worth sixteen points. 
Ten tricks in no trumps would be four by cards, worth 
forty-eight points. 

As soon as either side reaches or passes thirty 
points it is a game. No matter how much more than 
thirty they may make, it is all put down, but it is 
only one game of the rubber. Suppose the dealer's 
side already had twenty points scored and made six 
by cards at no trump, they would add seventy-two to 
their score, making it ninety-two altogether, but it 
would count only as one game. 

As soon as either side wins two games, that ends 
the rubber, and the cards are cut again for partners 



36 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



and deal. The side winning the rubber adds one hun- 
dred points bonus to its score. 

The object of the dealer's side is to make such a 
selection of a trump suit, or no trump, as will ma- 
terially advance their score for game. But in addition 
to the points made by tricks, which are the only ones 
that count toward game, there are additional scores 
for honours, and for winning twelve or thirteen 
tricks, and also for the misfortune of not having a 
trump dealt to you. The honours are the A, K, Q, J, 
lo of the trump suit, and the four aces when there 
are no trumps. 

The following table shows the value of the honours, 
etc. : 

Table of Honour Values 

If the trump suit is i^ A v 

3 honours count 4 8 12 16 

4 honours count 8 16 24 32 

5 honours count 10 20 30 40 

4 in one hand count 16 32 48 64 

4 in one hand, 5th in partner's. ... 18 36 54 72 

5 in one hand 20 40 60 80 

When there are no trumps: 

3 aces between partners count 30 

4 aces between partners count 40 

4 aces in one hand count 1 00 

Chicane counts the same as 3 honours. 

Little Slam counts 20 

Grand Slam counts 40 



DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME 37 

This table is not so difficult to remember as it ap- 
pears. There being five honours in the trump suit, 
one side must always have a majority. When this is 
simply the odd honour, three of the five, it is called 
" simple honours," and simple honours in trumps are 
always worth as much as two tricks in the trump 
suit. For instance, simple honours in hearts are worth 
sixteen points, which is the same as two tricks in 
hearts. 

Four honours held by the same partners are worth 
as much as four tricks. 

Five honours are worth as much as five tricks. 

Four or five honours in one hand are worth twice 
as much as when they are held between partners, four 
honours in diamonds being worth forty-eight. Four 
honours in one hand and the fifth in the partner's 
are worth as much as nine tricks. 

In addition to these scores for honours, there are 
other scores which are put in the honour column 
because they do not count toward winning the games. 
If one side wins all thirteen tricks, it is called a 
" grand slam," and adds forty points to the honour 
score. If one side wins twelve out of the thirteen 
tricks, it is a '' little slam," and adds twenty points. 
If a trump suit is declared, and any player has none 
of the suit dealt to him, he is " chicane," and scores 
the same as simple honours for his side. Suppose the 
dealer and his partner have four honours in hearts, 



38 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

A having the other honour and B having no trump 
at all. The dealer scores thirty-two for honours, 
and B scores sixteen for chicane. When two players 
are void of trumps, they each score for chicane. 

These honour scores do nothing to advance the 
game, but they must be taken into consideration in 
declaring, because they materially affect the ultimate 
value of the rubber. In order to keep the two scores, 
for tricks and for honours, separate, properly ruled 
score sheets are used, in which special places are pro- 
vided for trick and honour scores. 

Two forms are in common use. In one, the honours 
are scored in the same vertical column as the tricks, 
but '' above the line," as in diagram " A." In the 
other, the honours are scored in a separate column, 
as in diagram '' B." It will be seen that in ," A " 
the trick scores are entered immediately below the 
medial line and the honour scores immediately above 
it, so that one score is written upward and the other 
downward. In '' B," the scoring begins at the top 
of the page and follows downward in regular order, 
giving a full line across the page for each deal. 

Some players prefer the ^* B " style, because it is 
an easy matter to check the scores for each successive 
deal in case of any disagreement. Others prefer '' A," 
because it is so much easier to add up the results at 
the end and takes up less roon>. 

The following are the scores recorded on the dia- 



DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME 



39 



grams, both being the same, but entered in different 
ways: 

WE dealt, declared hearts and made two by cards 
and simple honours; usually expressed as ^' Sixteen 
each way.'^ 

THEY dealt, made it no trump, won three by 
cards and scored thirty for holding three aces between 
them. This won the first game, under which a line 
is drawn to mark it. 

WE dealt, made it spades, and won the odd trick, 
but the adversaries scored for four honours. 

THEY dealt, called hearts, and lost the odd trick, 
but scored simple honours. 

WE dealt, called diamonds, won four by cards and 
had four honours in one hand. Under this a line is 
drawn to show that the second game of the rubber 
is finished. 

THEY dealt, made four by cards and four honours 
in hearts, winning the deciding game of the rubber. 

The trick and honour scores are now added up, 
a hundred points are added to the score of the win- 
ning side, and the lower score is then deducted from 
the higher, the difference being the value of the rub- 
ber; in this case, 140 points. 

Bridge is usually played for so much a point or so 
much a hundred, fractions of certain amounts being 
thrown off to make even money. Suppose the game 
is 2 J cents a point, or los. a hundred. A rubber of 



40 



COMPLETE BRIDGE 



1 60 points would be worth $4, and one of 200 would 
be worth $5. But any rubber of 140 or more, up 
to 178, would also be worth $4, and any rubber from 
180 to 218 would be worth $5, unless it were agreed 
to settle down to half-dollars. 

Each player pays his right-hand adversary, so that 
if a rubber is worth $5 it really costs the partners 
$5 each, or $10 in all. Sometimes a player who does 
not wish to play as high as the others will find his 



Diagram '^ A ' 



Diagram ^^ B " 



WE. 


THEY. 


48 
16 


32 

16 

8 

30 


2 


32 


8 
24 




114 

Value 


154 
100 


254 
114 


I40 



WE. 


THEY. 


Honours. 


Tricks. 


Honours. 


Tricks. 


16 


16 


36 


30 


2 

8 
24 


48 




^ £ 






32 


32 


50 


64 
50 


68 

Value 


86 
68 


114 


154 
100 


254 
114 


140 



DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME 41 

partner willing to take on the difference. When this 
is done, the partner wins from or loses to both his ad- 
versaries. Suppose A plays for i cent a point, B 
taking the extra i^. The rubber is $5. Then A 
wins $3 from the player on his left, while B wins 
the remaining $2 from that player, and $5 from his 
partner, or $7 altogether. 



VALUE OF VARIOUS HANDS 

After the cards are shuffled and dealt, it becomes 
the dealer's duty- to select a trump suit, to play with- 
out a trump, or to pass the make to his partner. This 
is the starting-point of ever}' hand, and upon the 
dealer's decision the result always' depends. It is for 
him to select the battleground, and upon his ability* 
to choose the one best suited to the resources at his 
command, the issue of the struggle chiefly depends. 
Bad play may lose a few tricks and points, and oc- 
casionally just miss winning a rubber; but bad judg- 
ment on the dealer's part before the play begins will 
lose more than am^thing else. Nothing is so import- 
ant as the makes. 

The first difi&cult}' that the beginner experiences 
at the bridge table is in estimating the value of the 
various hands, so as to pick out the declaration that 
will give him the best result in points. His object 
being to take advantage of his position, because the 
dealer undoubtedly has a great advantage, and to ad- 
vance his score as far as possible, he naturally wishes 
to select a declaration which will win the game on 
the hand, if it is in the cards. It is a good general 
principle that the dealer should not make a declara- 
tion that cannot possibly vAn the game. 

4^ 



VALUE OF VARIOUS HANDS 43 



This limits him to three calls, when he has noth- 
ing scored and wants thirty points to win the game, 
no trumps, or one of the red suits. If his cards are 
not strong enough for any of these he should leave 
it to his partner, and give him a chance to make a 
declaration that may win the game. If his partner 
is not strong enough either, it will be time enough 
to consider how to lose as little as possible on bad 
cards or how to win something with spades or clubs. 

If the dealer's score is sufficiently advanced to go 
out with a black suit and he is strong enough to be 
reasonably sure of the game, he can declare clubs 
or spades without hesitation. The great thing is to 
win the game, because of its importance in deciding 
the rubber and the 100 points that go with it. When 
the dealer is 26 up, he does not want a no trumper 
or a heart to put him out. 

The difficulties of the position in declaring arise 
from its complications. There is so often a choice 
between two declarations, and then there is the neces- 
sity of considering the score, and there is also the 
alternative of passing. It will be found that per- 
sons who are continually passing the make, shifting 
its responsibilities to the shoulders of the dummy, are 
seldom successful players. 

Nothing will simplify the problem of the declara- 
tion so much as getting firmly fixed in the memory 
certain standard hands, the value of which can be 



44 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



depended on. They may not turn out well every 
time, and it will sometimes happen that other declara- 
tions would have done better, but in the long run 
the odds are distinctly in favor of certain declarations 
with certain classes of hands, and it will be found that 
any other declaration, if persisted in, will lose a large 
number of points. 

The first thing for a person to do, then, if he 
wishes to become an expert in the most important 
part of the game, the declarations, is to get a clear 
conception of certain kinds of hands, so that any given 
hand shall be immediately recognised as belonging 
to a particular class and calling for a particular 
declaration. 

Hands naturally fall into two great classes: those 
on which the dealer should declare, and those on 
which he should pass, and the distinction between 
these two great classes must first demand our atten- 
tion. 

All through the following pages there are a great 
many illustrations, the value of which will not be 
appreciated unless the reader will take the trouble to 
sort out the actual cards and lay them upon the table 
in front of him or hold them in his hand, so that 
the eye may become thoroughly familiar with the 
various combinations. If the eye is properly trained, 
it acquires a sort of unconscious memory, which will 
relieve you from the necessity of keeping the table 



VALUE OF VARIOUS HANDS 



45 



waiting while you try to recollect what it was that 
the book said about this or that kind of hand. You 
cannot take a text-book to the table with you, but 
if the eye has been trained to recognise certain com- 
binations of cards previously laid on the table and 
carefully studied, it will instantly recognise the same 
combinations in actual play. Nothing is more import- 
ant in any knowledge that is worth having than to 
train the same faculties in acquiring it that will be 
used in applying it. 

As there are four suits in the pack and each suit 
contains five high cards, usually spoken of as honours, 
these twenty honours must be distributed among the 
four players each deal. The average share of each 
player would be five: an ace, king, queen, jack, ten 
apiece. Any hand which contained one of each of 
the five honours, in various suits, would be an average 
hand. One containing more than its share would be 
above the average, and any hand containing less 
would be below. 

Compare these two hands: 

Hand i. Hand 2. 

VAQ64 VA863 

AKJ7 *K97 

♦ Q J lO # Q 4 2 

♦ 982 ♦JTS 

The first is clearly a queen and jack above the 
average, while the second is a ten below it. 



46 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



But it is obvious that, bar trumping, certain com- 
binations of cards may be equal in strength or value 
to certain single cards, so far as trick-making is con- 
cerned. For instance, both king and queen of one 
suit are certainly as good as the ace of another suit, 
and queen, jack, ten of a suit are as good as king 
and queen. If the suit is persistently led, any of these 
combinations must become good for a trick, and for 
the purpose of stopping or protecting a suit, the Q, 
J, lo is as good as the K, Q, and the K, Q is as 
good as the A. 

Therefore, in reckoning up the average value of 
any hand, certain combinations of minor honours may 
be reckoned as equal to higher honours. 

This being so, compare these two hands: 

Hand 3. Hand 4. 

^KQ5 VQJIO 

♦K742 AKS^ 

Q J 10 4 Q 8 5 

♦ J 10 8 ♦JTS 

If we take the K, Q of hearts in the first to be 
equal to an A, the hand is clearly J, 10 above the 
average. If we take the Q, J, lo in the second one 
to be equal to an A, the hand is clearly a 10 below 
the average. 

Now, if the K, Q of one suit is as good as the A, 
two aces must be as good as A, K, Q; and if Q, J, lO 
IS as good as K, Q, three aces must be as good as A, 



VALUE OF VARIOUS HANDS 47 



K, Q, Q, J, 10; that is, a Q above the average. 
These being so, compare these two hands: 

Hand 5. Hand 6. 

VA53 ^KQ86 

*A64. AQJIO 

♦ Q J 102 ^752 

♦ 853 ♦JT^ 

In the first, as either of the aces must be equal 
to K, Q, the hand must be a Q above the average. In 
the second, as the Q, J, 10 equal an ace only, the hand 
must be a 10 below the average. 

Now compare these hands: 

Hand 7. Hand 8. 

1?A86 VA84 

*A75 *KQ3 

A432 ^QJIOS 

♦ 976 ♦862 

Both are practically equal in trick-taking value, and 
both will be found to be a Q above the average. 

If the reader wishes to devote the time to it, noth- 
ing will so forcibly impress this on the memory as the 
following simple exercise. Take an ordinary pack 
of cards, shuffle them thoroughly, and count them off 
into packets of thirteen each. Take these packets, 
one at a time, and after sorting it into suits, ask 
yourself whether the hand is above or below the 
average in the matter of the honours held. Pay no 
attention to anything else until you are satisfied that 



48 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



you know a hand which is above or below the average 
the moment you see it. 

Having mastered this thoroughly, you will be pre- 
pared to put in practice the following rules: 

Hands above the average strength are those on 
which the dealer should declare. 

Hands below the average strength are those on 
which he should pass. > 

What he should declare, and why, will be dealt 
with in the chapter on the declarations. 

In estimating the average value of a hand it will 
often happen that certain single honours will have 
to be reckoned as worth a little more than other in- 
ferior honours that are not present. For instance, a 
hand may have two kings but no Q or J. As a rule, 
the more cards there are in a suit the more valuable 
the honours become, because they are better guarded, 
and leave more latitude for play. The K, J, and two 
small cards of a suit are worth quite as much as K, Q 
alone, and the K, lo with two small cards are worth 
quite as much as K, J and only one small card. 



ADVANTAGE OF THE DEALER 

There is another element which enters into the 
problem of estimating the value of a hand, which is 
too frequently lost sight of, and that is its position. 
The dealer's advantage in playing two hands com- 
bined is worth a great deal more than the beginner 
has any idea of. 

It is remarkable that out of a dozen of the leading 
writers on bridge, only two take into serious consid- 
eration the advantage that the dealer has in the play, 
even with perfectly equal cards. One of these two 
says that the dealer should win the odd trick seven 
times out of ten with equal cards. The other says 
that the dealers' advantage is 50 per cent., but later on 
he modifies this by asserting that he should win the 
odd trick thirteen times out of twenty if all the hands 
dealt were forced no-trumpers. Neither of these 
writers offers any examples or statistics to prove his 
point, and the figures are evidently approximations. 

If the reader will examine carefully the distribu- 
tion of the cards in Illustrative Hand No. i, he will 
see that each player holds exactly an average hand, 
down to the deuce, and that the combinations of the 
suits in each hand and between the partners is also 

49 



50 



COMPLETE BRIDGE 



exactly equal. Yet the dealer, simply from his knowl- 
edge of the position and his ability to take advantage 
of it, wins nine tricks to the adversaries' four. It 
is true that B could have saved the game by playing 
the ace of spades at trick 7, but that is the only 
trick A-B could have saved, and the dealer would 
still have won eight tricks to their five with ab- 
solutely equal cards. 

In all these illustrative hands, Z is the dealer and 
Y is his dummy partner. A leads for the first trick 
and B is his partner. The underlined card wins the 
trick, and the card under it is the next one led. 

It is not in every hand that the distribution of the 
cards is such as to allow the dealer to gain any great 
advantage from it, but experience has shown that in 
the long run the dealer's play is worth as much as 
a queen above the average in his hand, so that if he 
has a queen above the average in his actual cards, he 
may reckon that he is two queens above the average in 
hand and play combined. Some good players estimate 
this to be worth two by cards when they declare on a 
hand which is a queen above the average in the cards 
held. 

A good player, knowing the possibilities of the com- 
bination of his own hand with the dummy's, will sel- 
dom or never lose tricks that he might have made 
when he is the dealer. But the very best of players, 
when opposed to the dealer, will throw away hun- 



Illustrative Hand No. 1 

Showing the advantage of the dealer in playing a 
no-trumper. Z dealt. A leads. 



V K 7 5 

♦ Q8 4 

♦ A J 6 2 

♦ 10 9 3 




¥ Q 8 4. 
* K 7 5 

♦ 109 3 

♦ A J 6 2 



TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


2 if 


4 


9 f 


K ^ 


3 


* 4 


* 2 


4» K 


* 9 


3 


A 


8 i 


lO ^ 


5 # 


4 


6 ^ 


Q 4 


3 ^ 


7 # 


5 


J^ K 


^lO 


4 


^ 2 


6 


J ^ 


5 # 


A 5 


* 3 


r 


lO ^ 


7 4> 


2 4k 


Q ♦ 


8 


* 8 


* J 


* 7 


A lO 


9 


* Q 


« A 


6 ^ 


4 4k 


10 


5 


* 6 


J ♦ 


8 4k 


11 


7 


«» 9 


«* 8 


t 6 


12 


3 ^ 


3 


Q 


f» A 


13 


9 « 


K ^ 


A ^ 


J 



The dealer wins the game. 



52 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

dreds of tricks every year, simply from want of 
knowledge of the actual possibilities of the cards in 
their partner's hand. 

If the play in Illustrative Hand No. i is examined, 
it will be seen that A has the advantage of the first 
lead and gets his suit cleared first, but the dealer has 
the advantage of knowing the position and seeing the 
possibilities of a successful finesse in two different 
suits. By the time A has made his suit, Z has two 
suits cleared for action. At trick 7, A and B prac- 
tically start the hand over again, while with Z the 
game is finished and he knows just what is coming. 



THE DEALER'S DECLARATIONS 

Declarations are of two kinds, original and passed. 
The first are made by the dealer himself, the second 
by his partner, the dummy. 

Original declarations include the possibility of pass- 
ing the make to dummy, which is in itself a sort of 
declaration. In declaring, three things must be kept 
in view: 

The strength of the hand in any particular suit, or 
the distribution of the strength among several suits. 

The honours massed in one suit, especially the red 
suits, which might be selected for the trump, or the 
aces in a hand which might be a no-trumper. 

The score, and the number of points necessary to 
win the game or to advance it to a favourable stage. 

No-Trumpers 

The most desirable declaration for the dealer, be- 
cause the tricks in it are more valuable and it takes 
less of them to win the game, is a no-trumper. Un- 
less the honours in some one suit are very valuable as 
trumps, a no-trumper will pay better than anything 

S3 



54 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

else. For this reason no opportunity of calling no 
trumps should be missed. 

Having thoroughly learned to recognise the differ- 
ence between the two great classes of hands, those 
above and those below the average, let us turn our 
attention exclusively to one of those classes, the hands 
above the average, and see what we can learn about 
the smaller classes of hands which are included in this 
larger class. 

Compare these two hands: 

Hand 9. Hand 10. 

^ A KQ J V Q J 10 3 

♦ 642 *A75 
4 Q 8 5 4 9 6 3 
^ 107 3 ♦ KQ 4 

These are both a queen above the average, and they 
are therefore equal in that respect, but there is a 
great difference between them in the distribution of 
their strength. In the first it is all in one suit; in the 
second it is scattered among three different suits. 

Compare these two hands: 

Hand 11. Hand 12. 

^753 ^ A e 2 

AAKQ5 *K753 

♦ K J 10 4 K104 

♦ 973 ♦QJ9 

Both these are a king above the average, but in 
one the strength is concentrated in two suits; in the 
other it is spread over all four. 



THE DEALER'S DECLARATIONS 55 

It will be seen that in the hands in which the 
strength is distributed among three suits, it is prob- 
ably sufficient to prevent the adversaries from win- 
ning every trick in any of those suits, should they be- 
gin by leading them. In other words, these three 
suits are '^ protected " or " guarded." 

Many writers go to great lengths in giving ex- 
amples of what they consider protected suits, but they 
are very far from agreeing on the subject. For all 
practical purposes it may be stated that a protected 
suit is one in which you can probably stop the ad- 
versaries from winning every trick; it is a suit in 
which they cannot run off five or six tricks without 
letting you into the lead at least once. Experience is 
the best teacher as to what these suits are. 

If the reader will go back over the hands already 
given, it will be seen that with the exception of Nos. 
9 and II every hand which is above the average is 
protected in three suits. Even the club suit in No. 3, 
four to the king, is considered as very well guarded, 
experience having proved it so. 

If the reader will take a pack of cards, shuffle them, 
and count out hands of thirteen each as before, it will 
be found excellent practice to throw aside all hands 
which are recognised as below the average, but to 
pick out from those which are above the average all 
the hands in which the strength is so distributed as 
to protect three suits. 



56 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



Study these hands carefully so that you will know 
them any time you see them, because any hand which 
is at least a king or queen above the average, in which 
the strength is sufficiently distributed to protect three 
suits, is a no-trumper. 

It is not necessary to call attention to any trifling 
exceptions to this rule. They will come later, when 
we consider the honour scores. '^ 

Speculative No-Trumpers 

There are certain hands, in which there is not the 
necessary protection in three suits, but which are still 
so much above the average that it is a fair risk to 
speculate on their turning out better as no-trumpers 
than anything else. Such hands are those which con- 
tain five or more certain tricks, provided they ever 
get into the lead. 

If the strength of such hands is massed in a red 
suit, they are, of course, better trump declarations, but 
when the strength is in the black suits it seems a pity 
to waste five or six tricks at two or four points each 
which might just as well have been worth twelve. 

Compare these hands: 

Hand 13. Hand 14. 

¥ 6 4 2 V A 5 

AAK3 AT^S 

♦ 8 7 5 4 6 2 

♦AKQ2 ♦AKQJ82 



THE DEALER'S DECLARATIONS 57 



In either of these, if the dealer or the dummy once 
gets the lead, the odd trick is almost a certainty, and 
very likely the game may be won. It is true that 
dummy may have a good heart call if the make is 
passed; but if he is strong enough in the red suits 
to call a red trump, he is strong enough to give you 
just the assistance you want by protecting the suits 
in which you are weak. If he can call diamonds, his 
diamonds are not as useful as trumps as they would 
be in supporting a no-trumper in the dealer's hand. 
While it is true that the adversaries may open one of 
the weak suits and run it down, it is an even chance 
that they open a suit that the dummy can stop, and 
the odds are greatly against dummy's being hopelessly 
weak in both the suits in which the dealer is weak. 

From these considerations we arrive at the rule that 
any hand which contains five or more certain tricks, 
although protected in only two suits, should declare 
no trumps. 

Pip-Counting No-Trumpers 

Several methods of arriving at the value of a hand 
which should be strong enough to declare no trumps 
have been suggested, but none will be found so simple 
and reliable as that already given. 

One of these methods is to attach an arbitrary nu- 
merical value to each of the court cards, calling the 



58 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



ace worth seven, the king five, the queen three, the 
jack two, and the ten one. This gives the total 
value of an average hand as eighteen, and if the hand 
is a queen above the average, it must add up to 
twenty-one. The rule is then given to call no 
trumps on any hand that will count up to twenty-one. 

This rule is, however, governed by several excep- 
tions. For instance, a singleton ace must be reckoned 
as worth four only; a singleton king, two; an un- 
guarded queen, one. 

The rule is further complicated by having to make 
a calculation for the number of guarded suits in which 
the honours used to count up to twenty-one are found. 
In this case the addition must be seven, and the twenty- 
one count is abandoned in favour of the " certain 
tricks " in the hand. With four certain tricks and 
three suits guarded, the hand is worth seven. With 
five sure tricks and two suits guarded, or with six 
sure tricks in one suit, the hand is equally worth 
seven, and should call no trumps. It is easy to find 
many hands which fit one rule and not the other, 
as, for instance. A, K, Q in one suit and K, J in an- 
other, nothing in the other two, which counts twenty- 
two by pip reckoning, but will not meet the seven 
rule. 

In some places, especially Australia, it is the rule 
that the dealer should never pass the make to his 
partner unless he has three tricks in his hand, these 



THE DEALER^S DECLARATIONS 59 



three tricks not being sufficiently distributed to call 
no trumps. The object is to let the partner know what 
strength he may expect, but it drives the dealer to 
declarations which would much better be left to the 
dummy. 

Honours at No Trumps 

The aces being valuable counting cards in the 
honour column, the risk of calling no trumps and 
finding the adversaries with a large honour score for 
aces must be considered. 

Compare these hands: 

Hand 15. Hand 16. 

^A86 ^KQ8 

4kAJ4.2 4kKJ64 

♦ A75 ♦QJIO 

♦ 963 ♦TSS 

^ So far as trick-taking is concerned, these two 
hands may be said to be of equal value, but No. 15 is 
certain of scoring thirty above the line for honours, 
whereas it is possible, although improbable, that the 
adversaries will score forty, or even one hundred aces 
against No. 16. For this reason a no-trumper should 
always contain at least one ace, or it should be very 
strong in every suit. Tb justify a no-trumper with- 
out an ace, most of the authorities are agreed that 
the hand should contain at least four kings and three 
queens. Weaker hands than this frequently make the 



6o COMPLETE BRIDGE 



call, but it will usually be found, if the make goes 
through successfully, that the dummy would have 
called no trumps if it had been left to him. 

It is often a nice question to decide between a 
heart and a no-trumper, and the honours at no 
trumps will usually turn the scale. Many players fall 
into the error of calling risky no-trumpers on per- 
fectly safe heart hands. 

Compare these hands: 

Hand 17. Hand 18. 

^ KQ753 ^ AQJ1052 

*KQ64 Jl> A e 4' 

♦ 9 5 ♦ A 9 

♦ A 2 ♦AT 

Both are evidently no-trumpers, so far as trick- 
taking goes, but in No. 17 there are weak spots which 
suggest a heart call as much safer, especially if the 
dealer has anything scored on the game. It takes 
only one more trick to win the game at hearts than 
at no trumps. In No. 18, the score for four aces in 
one hand, one hundred points, is sufficient to outweigh 
any strength in hearts, and it may be laid down as a 
rule without exception that with four aces in his hand 
a player should always declare no trumps. 

A hand was published in a tournament in London 
in which the dealer held seven hearts to four honours. 
The hand also contained four aces, and the problem 
was to give the proper make. Although the umpire 



THE DEALER'S DECLARATIONS 6i 



decided in favour of the heart call, it was proved by 
experiment that the no-trump declaration won an 
average of fiftj^-four points a deal more than the heart 
make. 

Compare these hands: 

Hand 19. Hand 20. 

W A KQIO ^ A 8 6 

A A 6 4k A 4< 2 

♦ 975 ♦AQJIO 

♦ AJ42 #953 

In No. 19, the honour score in hearts is more valu- 
able than the honour score at no trumps, therefore 
such a hand should call hearts. In No. 20, the honour 
score in diamonds, although worth eighteen more than 
the honour score for the three aces at no trump, is 
not sufficient to balance the higher value of the tricks 
and the greater ease of winning the game without a 
trump. A hand like No. 20 should always call no 
trumps in preference to diamonds. With all five 
honours in diamonds, the trump might be given the 
preference, or when only six or twelve points were 
needed to win the game. 

With three aces, no trump should always be called, 
unless the hand contains six hearts to two honours, or 
five hearts to three honours, one of which is the ace of 
hearts. 

The reader may give himself some excellent prac- 
tice by sorting out from the pack three aces, and, 



62 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



after shuffling the rest of the cards, giving himself 
hands of ten cards at a time. Taking these in the 
hand with the three aces one can see if there is any 
better call than no trumps. The same thing can be 
done holding out two aces, and giving yourself eleven 
cards from the pack. The experience thus gained will 
give confidence. 

The Trump Declarations 

In considering the two great classes of hands which 
are above the average, we have thrown out those in 
which the strength was massed in one or two suits, 
unless they were strong enough to be considered as 
speculative no-trumpers. 

We have laid down the principle that all hands 
which are above the average should declare, and have 
shown that those in which the strength is distributed 
should call no trumps. Obviously the others, those in 
which the strength is massed in one suit, should make 
that suit the trump. If the strength is divided be- 
tween two suits, the more valuable suit should be 
selected, provided it has length as well as high cards. 

But there are certain considerations which enter 
into trump declarations which are quite foreign to no- 
trumpers. It is not so vital to have protection in 
various suits, because the trumps will stop any suit in 
which you are weak or short. A missing suit is 



THE DEALER'S DECLARATIONS 63 

sometimes an element of strength, because you can 
ruff it from the start and the adversaries cannot make 
a single trick in it, no matter how strong they are. 
Trumps are also very useful to support other suits, 
and one good plain suit, supported by five or six 
trumps, is a very powerful hand. 

The moment you declare to play with a trump, the 
honours in the various suits cease to be the only cards 
of value, because the smallest card of the trump suit 
will kill the biggest ace of a plain suit. It is there- 
fore quite possible that a hand which is below the 
average which we have set down as essential for a 
no-trumper may be much above the average in real 
trick-taking strength if a certain suit is picked out 
for the trump. 

This being so, we must adopt a different scale of 
measurement for hands in which one particular suit 
is long enough to be a good trump suit. Length in 
trumps is often more important than high cards. The 
more trumps you have, the more likely you are to 
find the adversaries with few, and the more freely 
you can trump their good cards. With only four 
trumps, you are likely to find an adversary with just 
as many as yourself ; therefore it is very important that 
when your trumps are not numerous they should be 
very high cards, or be supported by strong outside 
cards in plain suits, almost good enough for a no- 
trumper. 



64 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



Compare these hands: 




Hand 21. 


Hand 22. 


<!rK Q 7 5 3 


<^J 8 6 4. 


* J 8 4 


* Q 9 3 


♦ 6 3 2 


A 7 5 


♦ A 9 


♦ 9 8 2 



They are both below the average; the first a lO 
below, the other K and lo below. Neither would be 
a good no-trumper, but if hearts were declared on 
No. 21 it would be a very sound make, whereas 
there is no good trump declaration on No. 22. 

The beginner naturally feels the want of some 
simple rule by which he may gauge his hand when 
he is not quite sure whether it is a fair trump call or 
not. The following simple method will be found use- 
ful until such time as the player has gained sufficient 
experience to do v^^ithout it. 

Count up the cards in the suit which you think of 
making the trump; add the number of honours in 
that suit, and then add the number of aces and kings 
in the plain suits. These are usually called ^^ outside " 
aces and kings. No card below a king is of any 
counting value. If the total of this addition is eight 
or more, it is usually a sound make. 

Apply this rule to No. 2i, taking hearts as the 
proposed trump. There are five hearts, two honours 
in hearts, and one outside ace, a total of eight, there- 
fore a fair heart make on the cards. 



THE DEALER'S DECLARATIONS 65 

Apply the same rule to No. 22, still taking hearts, 
the longest suit, for the trump. There are four 
hearts, one honour in hearts, and one outside ace; a 
total of six only, therefore a very poor heart call. 

On account of the importance of the number of 
trumps, it is usually bad policy to declare with less 
than five unless three of them are honours, or the out- 
side cards are strong. Six trumps without an honour 
among them are much stronger than three trumps 
which are all honours. 

But there is another important point in trump 
declarations: the value of the tricks which are to be 
won when a certain suit is named. There is a great 
difference between declaring for tricks which are 
worth only two points each and those which are 
worth eight. 

Compare these two hands: 



Hand 23. 


Hand 24, 


^KQ 5 


^7 4 


* A K 8 6 3 


A K103 


^J 4 2 


6 2 


♦ 10 8 


♦ A Q J 7 5 4. 



Neither is strong enough for no trumps, but each 
has a suit of five cards which might be made the 
trump. If the club is selected in No. 23, it can be 
counted up to eight, while No. 24 can be counted 
to ten if the spade suit is selected for the trump. 

But both of these are black suits, and the dealer 



66 .COMPLETE BRIDGE 

should hesitate to declare a black suit unless the score 
is sufficiently advanced to make it reasonably sure that 
he can win the game. 

This consideration is important. The » dealer al- 
ways has a chance to win the game, and he should not 
wilfully throw away that chance while there is any 
hope. It is impossible to win the game from zero with 
a black suit, even if you make a grand slam. When 
you are ahead in the score, or have an advantage that 
you wish to keep, such as having won the first game, 
you may be cautious and call a black suit. If you are 
twenty-six or twenty-eight up, No. 24 would be a 
very good spade call. With twenty-six, or even only 
twenty-two up. No. 23 would be a very fair club 
declaration. 

Dummy's Possibilities 

We come now to another point, too often over- 
looked. If you pass the make, what will dummy most 
likely declare? The natural answer to this is, that 
the suit in which you are weak is most likely his 
strong suit. This consideration leads us to two differ- 
ent courses, each of which seems to. have something in 
its favour. We can trust dummy to have what we 
have not, and declare on our own cards, or we can 
leave it to dummy, and see if he has what we hope 
he has. If we take the first course, it usually leads 



THE DEALER'S DECLARATIONS 67 

us to a speculative no-trumper; if we take the second, 
we must pass the make. 

There are five possible declarations, three of which 
are better than the black suits, and if the make is 
passed it is probable that dummy will call something 
better than a black trump. If he cannot, no harm is 
done, because you would have called a black suit 
yourself; but if you make it black originally, you shut 
out any possibility of dummy's having a better call. 

Compare these two hands: 

Hand 25. Hand 26. 

^KQ86 VAK6 

4k J 104- * 7 5 3 

♦AK2 ♦KQ95 

♦ 9 7 5 ♦J 103 

Neither is a good no-trumper, although both are a 
king above the average, because the third suit is not 
protected. Either can be counted up to eight with a 
red trump, the first in hearts and the second in dia- 
monds, and although neither of them is a very desirable 
make, because there are only four trumps and two 
honours in trumps, they are still very fair '^ protective " 
makes, because if the make is passed it is improbable 
that dummy can do as well. If he has a better call 
than hearts on No. 25, it must be a no-trumper, and 
the beginner should never forget that when dummy 
lays down a no-trumper in answer to a heart call by 
the dealer it is almost certainly a game hand. 



68 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

In No. 26', the diamond call is not as good as the 
heart call in No. 25 because of the difficulty of win- 
ning the game in diamonds, unless the score is ad- 
vanced. But the careful player must always consider 
what dummy will probably declare if it is left to him. 
If the dealer passes with hands like Nos. 25 and 26 
the chances are decidedly against dummy's having 
anything better to declare. 

When the score is against the dealer and he is 
afraid of losing the game on the next deal, or when 
he has everything to gain and nothing to lose, he should 
invariably refuse to call diamonds originally unless he 
has six or seven of them, or holds four honours, or 
sees from his own cards that it is improbable that 
dummy has any better call. There is some fatality 
about a diamond make which cannot fail to arrest the 
attention of any observant player. While usually re- 
garded as on the border line, and freely called in 
England, diamonds have come to be classed with the 
black makes in America, and are resorted to only when 
ahead on the score, or when the hand is very strong, 
either in length or in honours. 

Compare these two hands: 

Hand 27. Hand 28. 

w e 4- w e 4- 

*KQ7 A7532 

♦ AQ632 fAKJlO 

♦975 ♦KQS 



THE DEALER'S DECLARATIONS 69 

With diamonds for trumps, No. 27 can be counted 
up to eight, which is not very strong. The hearts are 
so weak that it is quite possible dummy may have a 
strong heart call, or even a no-trumper. The weaker 
the dealer is in a suit the more chance that dummy 
may be strong in it. In Nos. 25 and 26, the dealer's 
strength in hearts makes it less likely that dummy can 
call hearts, but in No. 27 the contrary is the case. 

In No. 28, the diamonds are not only strong, they 
are valuable, the score for four honours in one hand 
being forty-eight points. This alone is sufficient justi- 
fication for calling diamonds, irrespective of the chance 
of winning tricks. If these two hands are carefully 
compared, it will be seen that No. 27 is not a good 
diamond call unless the dealer's score is advanced, or 
he is a game ahead and wishes to hold his advantage. 
No. 28, on the contrary, is a good diamond declaration 
at any score. 

Compare these two hands: 



Hand 29. 


Hand 30. 


¥ K 6 4 


¥ 6 4 


♦ 753 


♦ A KQ 7 5 3 


4 8 6 


♦ 9 7 


♦ A K J 102 


♦ KQ 2 



In No. 29, there are four honours in spades, but 
they are worth practically nothing, and such a suit 
is much more valuable to support a better call by the 
dummy. But if you are twenty-six or twenty-eight up, 



70 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



No. 29 is a very strong spade call. In No. 30, it 
would be wasting opportunities to call clubs unless 
you were twenty-two or twenty-six up, and it is very 
likely that dummy has a better call. Such a hand as 
No. 30 is a good example of a speculative no- 
trumper. If dummy is to be asked to declare some- 
thing better than clubs, he must be strong in the red 
suits, and if he is, why not go no trumps? He may 
have just enough strength to support you in a no- 
trumper, but not enough to venture on a red suit him- 
self. If you will not speculate with a hand like this, 
you must pass it, unless you are far enough ahead in 
the score to go out with a black trump. 

Honours m Trumps 

The value of the honours must not be overlooked 
in trump calls. Four honours in hearts or diamonds 
adds a good many points to the value of the rubber, 
and many players will not hesitate to call clubs when 
they have five honours, which are worth forty points, 
although it might be a better no-trumper if there were 
any other sure trick in the hand. 

Defensive Trump Makes 

There are a great many hands which are not good 
enough for no-trumpers and which will not count up 



THE DEALER'S DECLARATIONS 71 



to eight for a trump declaration, but upon which it 
may be necessary to declare, simply as a defensive 
measure. 

With five trumps to one honour, nothing in the 
plain suits, the hand will not count up to more than 
six. If the make is passed, it is hardly possible that 
dummy can call hearts. If he has a no-trumper, well 
and good, but it must be a very strong one to pull 
you through if you have not a trick in your hand. If 
he calls diamonds on average strength you will be 
little better off, but if he calls spades or clubs be- 
cause he is strong in them, you may regret that you 
did not call hearts, especially if he has two or three 
fair hearts to help you out. 

The danger in passing with such weakness is that 
dummy will call his hand to its full value, trusting 
you for two or three tricks, and that you will lose 
by it. Then again, if he has a fair average hand, not 
enough to call a red trump, it may turn out that your 
five hearts were just what he wanted. You are 
placed between two difficulties. If you call hearts 
with such weakness and dummy has nothing, you have 
made every trick you lose an expensive error, especially 
if you are doubled. On the other hand, dummy may 
be forced to call a cheap spade on a hand which was 
good for two by cards in hearts with your five 
trumps to help him. 

If the make is passed, it will frequently be found 



72 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

that dummy has just an average hand, not good 
enough for anything, but containing perhaps three or 
four hearts. On this he feels compelled to call a 
spade, and neither of you have anything in spades, 
which will probably be doubled. 

Experience shows that it is better to leave the make 
to dummy with only five hearts to one honour, and 
trust to his judgment not to take too great a risk with 
his cards. But with six hearts, even without an 
honour, and without a trick in plain suits, it is best 
to declare hearts. If dummy has only an average 
hand, he will probably hold two or three hearts, and 
eight or nine trumps between two hands is a very 
strong combination, quite enough to establish some 
suit, if only by ruffing it out, or to make the odd 
trick by trumping the adversaries' good cards. 

With six small diamonds, the make is not valuable 
enough to be worth speculating upon if there is noth- 
ing else in the hand, and they should be looked upon 
much as if they were six small spades or clubs. 

The reader who wishes to try his skill on a few 
makes can go over the test hands given as examples. 
The score is love-all. The make he selects can be 
written on a slip of paper opposite the number of the 
hand, and when the list is complete it can be com- 
pared with the key at the end of the book, where the 
reasons for selecting certain declarations can be found. 



THE DEALER'S DECLARATIONS 



73 



Any person who has carefully studied the foregoing 
pages should be able to pick out the correct make in 
each of these twenty examples without much trouble; 
but if they are given to a person unfamiliar with this 
work, he will probably fail on five or six of them at 
least. 



TEST HANDS FOR DECLARING 



^ A K109 4 


No. I. 


^ 






No. 2. 




A A 




4k 


A QIO 






♦ 5 3 






A K J 8 


5 




♦ A K 8 4 3 




# 


Q 8 6 5 


4 




V A K 6 5 3 


No. 3. 


'^ 


KIO 9 8 


5 


No. 4. 


* K 6 5 




4k 


A 4 3 






♦ AlO 




♦ 


K 






♦ K 7 4 




♦ 


K108 3 






^874 


No. 5. 


««$' 


A Q J 8 




No. 6. 


* A 7 




4k 


KQ 9 3 






^ K104 




f 


J 8 4 






^ K 9 8 7 5 




♦ 


8 2 






^ J 9 6 4 3 


No. 7. 


^ 


Q107 4 




No. 8. 


4k K107 5 




4k 


7 6 2 






♦ J 




♦ 


A 8 






♦ 8 6 2 




♦ 


KQ J 7 






V Q J 7 5 


No. 9. 


^ 


2 




No. 10. 


* 6 5 4 




4k 


A K J 107 3 


2 


4 K108 7 




♦ 


A K 2 






♦ A 4 




4^ 


A 3 






^ A K QIO 


No. II. 


W 


Q J 10 5 




No. 12. 


4k A Q102 




4k 


A K 4 






^ A105 




♦ 








4^ K3 




# 


K J 9 8 


4 2 




•1^ A K 9 4 


No. 13. 


^ 


A Q 5 4 




No. 14. 


* 4 3 




4k 


Q7 






♦ A Q102 




♦ 


A J 108 


5 




♦ 8 7 6 




^ 


5 4 






^ A K 7 3 


No. 15. 


* 


QIO 




No. 16. 


* A KQ J 7 5 




' 4k 


Q 6 5 2 






♦ 




♦ 


A K J 9 


5 




♦ 10 6 3 




^ 


Q7 






IT Q7 


No. 17. 


^ 


A 9 




No. 18. 


* K 9 8 5 




4k 


A 9 8 2 






i KQ J lO 




4 


A K Q J 


5 




♦ KQ 3 




♦ 


Q4 






<t Q 4 


No. 19. 


1^ lOS 7 5 4 


No. 20. 


* 6 5 2 




4k 


106 3 






♦ Q J 109 7 3 




♦ 


KQ J 






# KIO 




4k 


K 7 







THE DUMMY'S DECLARATIONS 

Beginners usually fall into the error of supposing 
that they can declare on dummy's cards by applying 
the same rules as those given for the guidance of the 
dealer. But such is not the case, and it is this un- 
fortunate practice of '' over calling " the dummy's 
hands which has driven many good players to defen- 
sive declarations on their own deal, a matter which 
will be discussed in a following chapter. 

When the make is passed, it is usually a declaration 
of less than average strength in the dealer's hand, and 
there is a special probability of weakness in the red 
suits, particularly in hearts. When the dummy is 
asked to declare, he must remember that he is asked 
in a manner to allow for the dealer's weakness, and 
his cards must make up for it, especially in red suits. 
If dummy cannot do this, both hands are probably too 
weak to make any call that will materially advance the 
score, and the object must be to lose as little as possible. 

There are certain standard hands on which dummy 
is always justified in declaring, such as no trumps on 
four aces, and usually on three, especially if two of 
them are red. 

75 



76 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

Compare these hands: 

Hand 31. Hand 32. 

^A86 ^KQJ64 

♦ AJ4. AATS 

♦ A Q 2 4 9 3 

♦ 9753 ♦KJIO 

In No. 31, with three aces, and especially both red 
aces, dummy is perfectly safe in calling no trumps, 
because he not only has thirty points above the line 
that he is sure of, but is able to protect the suits 
in which the dealer is probably weak. In No. 32, 
although there is strength enough to justify a no- 
trumper, hearts is a safer declaration, not only on ac- 
count of the honour score, but because of the weakness 
in diamonds, which will be exposed as soon as the 
cards are laid down. 

Dummy must always make allowance for the fact 
that the adversaries will never be in any doubt about 
his strength, and will see at once where his weakness 
lies. This makes dummy's no-trumpers not quite as 
good as the dealer's. The dealer's hand is always a 
sort of unknown terror, supposed to contain many 
wonderful cards, and stoppers in every suit. The ad- 
versaries are continually crediting him with strength 
which he does not possess, and they lose opportunities 
accordingly. When dummy declares, there is no such 
uncertainty, and the adversaries proceed to cut up his 
hand with great accuracy. Several examples of this 



THE DUMMY'S DECLARATIONS 77 

will be found in the various illustrative hands v^hich 
are to follow. 

Dummy should be particularly careful to distinguish 
between a safe heart call and a doubtful no-trumper. 
In the hands of the dealer, a doubtful no-trumper is 
better than a weak trump make; but with the dummy 
the contrary is often the case. 

Compare these hands: 

Hand 33. Hand 34. 

V KQ 9 8 V 8 

♦A543 XKQSS 

♦ 96 ♦AQJ64 

4k A104 ♦ A 7 2 

Either of them would be a fine no-trumper for 
the dealer, but the first, with four hearts to two 
honours and two outside tricks, is a safer heart call 
for dummy. There are only three sure tricks in the 
hand at no trumps, and the dealer must be able to 
win four more to get the odd. No. 34 is a very risky 
no-trumper for the dummy, as the weakness in hearts 
may be fatal, but it is a very strong diamond declara- 
tion. 

Compare these two hands: 

Hand 35. Hand 36. 

^753 ^AK8 

♦ A K 2 ♦J 106 

♦ J 108 ♦ A Q 4 2 

♦ AQ54 #975 



78 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



They are identical so far as strength is concerned, 
each being an ace above the average; but for dummy, 
No. 35 would be a very poor no-trumper, because he 
is weak in the same suits that the dealer is probably 
weak in — the red. No. 36, on the contrary, would be 
a very good no-trumper for dummy, as he is strong 
in the suits in which the dealer is probably weak. 

It is a very good rule for the dummy never to call 
no trumps unless he can protect or stop both the red 
suits. If he is tempted to risk either of them, let it 
be the diamonds, but never the hearts. More of 
dummy^s no-trumpers come to grief from want of pro- 
tection in hearts than from any other cause. 

While the dealer may call no trumps with any hand 
which is a queen above the average and has three 
suits protected, he does so on the theory that dummy's 
'' answer," as it is called, will be at least an average 
hand. When the dummy is asked to make it, he 
knows that the dealer's hand is probably below average 
and he must make the proper allowance for it. 

As a rule, to call no trumps, dummy's cards should 
be at least an ace above the average. 

Speculative no-trumpers are not quite as good for 
the dummy as for the dealer, because their weak spots 
are immediately exposed. Nevertheless, dummy may 
occasionally take a chance on a hand that promises 
a great score if it can get into the lead. A black 
suit of six or seven cards, headed by A, K, Q, and 



THE DUMMY'S DECLARATIONS 79 



an ace to get in with, especially the ace of hearts, or 
both K and Q of that suit, is a fair risk. 

Dummy may call diamonds much more freely than 
the dealer, because in dummy's hand the diamond be- 
comes one of the defensive declarations. 

While the dealer may call a red suit with a hand 
which will count up to eight, dummy should avoid red 
suits, as a rule, unless he has a hand that will count 
up to nine. No. 33 is an example of an exceptional 
case. 

The score will often have an influence on dummy's 
declarations. If he is ahead, he must be more than 
usually cautious, but when he is behind, especially if 
the adversaries are likely to go out on the next deal, 
he should take every chance that his hand warrants to 
declare something that may win the game. With the 
score twenty-eight to nothing against him, a risky no- 
trumper is quite legitimate ; but with the dealer's score 
twenty-four or twenty-six up, it is probable that the 
dealer leaves it for the purpose of letting dummy de- 
clare his best suit, no matter what it is. A no- 
trumper is not wanted under such circumstances. 

Compare these hands: 



Hand 37. 


Hand 38. 


^64 


^95 


* A K 7 5 


* Q J 6 4 2 


♦ K 8 2 


♦ Q8 7 


♦ 9732 


♦ A K 3 



8o COMPLETE BRIDGE 

In neither of these is there any hope of making a 
good score, and the declaration must be made with a 
view to losing as little as possible. It is not always 
necessary to call spades just because you have a poor 
hand when the dealer passes the make to you. The 
high cards in the black suits must be looked on as trick 
takers, not as honours. In No. 37, the best call is 
spades, because the small cards may win tricks if they 
are trumps, and so will the high cards in clubs. If 
clubs are trumps, the spades are absolutely useless. In 
No. 38, the club is a better call, not only on account 
of the number, but because the high spades are just 
as good as trumps for trick winners. Beginners are 
apt to attach too much importance to high cards in the 
black suits, forgetting that the black honours count 
little or nothing, and that number is the important 
thing in trumps. 

If the reader wishes to see the results of dummy's 
calls he will find it excellent practice to take a pack 
of cards and deal out hands of thirteen until he finds 
one on which the dealer would certainly pass. Deal 
the remaining thirty-nine cards in three hands, and ex- 
amine each in turn. After settling upon the proper 
declaration for the dummy with any of these three 
hands, lay the two others on each side, and see what 
would happen. These three hands can be transposed 
so as to make six different combinations without re- 
shuffling the cards. 



DECLARING TO THE SCORE 

Attention to the score is a very important part of 
the declarer's duties. The influence of the score may 
be felt in two ways: the dealer's side may be anxious 
to reach a certain stage, or may wish to prevent the 
adversaries from making a certain number of points. 

When the score is advanced, it is most important 
that a declaration should be selected which may win 
the game, but is unlikely to lose it. Suppose the 
dealer's score is twenty-four to twenty, and that he 
has a choice between a diamond and a no-trumper; 
let us say such a hand as No. 34. To declare no 
trumps would be foolish, because the loss of the odd 
trick means the loss of the game. The odd trick in 
diamonds will win the game for the dealer, while the 
adversaries would have to make two by cards to go 
out on diamonds. 

In the same way, if there is a possible choice be- 
tween the red suits, the score should decide which 
should be selected. Suppose the dealer's score is 
twenty-two to twenty-four and he holds such cards as 
those given in No. 13 of the " Test Hands for De- 
claring.'* He must make it hearts, so as to get out 

with the odd trick if he can. If the adversaries get 

Si 



82 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

the odd trick they go out, whether it is a heart or a 
diamond. But if the dealer's score were twenty-four 
to twenty-two he should call diamonds, because the 
odd trick wins the game for him and it will not win 
the game for the adversaries if they get it. 

With the same cards, suppose the dealer's score is 
eighteen to fourteen; two by cards in diamonds win 
the game for him, while he would have to lose three 
by cards to give the game to the adversaries. If he 
called hearts, two by cards lost would put the adver- 
saries out. 

Suppose the dealer's score is twenty-two to twenty- 
four. Clubs might be better than diamonds if there 
were any probability of making two by cards, because 
the loss of the odd trick in clubs does not lose the game, 
whereas it would in diamonds. 

Many games are missed through the dealer's greedi- 
ness to win more points than are necessary to make 
sure of the game. If the dealer has any sound declara- 
tion that will probably give him one or two by cards, 
and that will be enough to put him out, he should 
never leave it to his partner in the hope of finding 
him with some more expensive declaration that will 
increase the value of the rubber. 

The importance of winning the game, especially the 
first game, is often overlooked. If you win the first 
game, the adversaries have to win two games in suc- 
cession to get the rubber, and the odds against their 



DECLARING TO THE SCORE 83 

doing so are three to one. That is equal to odds of 
seventy-five to twenty-five, or seventy-five out of a 
hundred. Now, if your equity in the rubber, after 
winning the first game, is seventy-five out of a hundred, 
all writers on bridge must be in error when they 
estimate its value as only thirty-three, or at the most 
sixty-six points. 

In order to avoid any chance of throwing away a 
game, many good players think that dummy should 
not be too hasty in calling no trumps when the score 
is desperate, unless he has a perfectly safe call; be- 
cause, they argue, the dealer would call no trumps 
himself, even with only average cards under such cir- 
cumstances. They recommend as better a red trump, 
especially hearts, even with very moderate strength, 
on the theory that the dealer may have had some 
strength in hearts, but hoped for a better call from 
dummy. 

The reader who wishes to try his skill on passed 
makes may write out opposite the numbers of the fol- 
lowing hands the declaration he would select if he 
were the dummy and there was nothing scored on 
either side. 



84 



COMPLETE BRIDGE 



Test Hands for Dummy's Declarations 



V Q 9 8 6 4 
4k K 8 
^ A 9 S 7 
♦ A 8 


No. 2 1. 
No. 23. 


"^865 

* A K 6 
^ Q10 8 

♦ A J 6 2 


No. 22. 


1^ Q6 2 

* Q J 

^ K J 107 

♦ A Q J 6 


^ 8 7 5 4 2 
* AlO 

K9 6 4 
4!b AlO 


No. 24. 


w J 

* A Q 9 4 3 
i K 7 3 

^ A10 9 8 


No. 25. 


^ 108 7 5 
* A J 10 9 4 


No. 26. 


♦ J 7 4 2 





DEFENSIVE DECLARATIONS 

One of the more recent developments of bridge is 
the defensive declaration by the dealer. What he 
purposes defending himself against does not seem to be 
quite clear to the minds of those who advocate the 
system, but an impartial investigation of the matter 
would indicate that they attach more importance to the 
cash value of the points than to the amusement the 
game affords, or wish to impress their superior judg- 
ment upon their dummy partners. 

The advocates of the defensive makes maintain that 
if the dealer has a hand which is below the average, 
and passes the make to the dummy, the dummy must 
have a hand of extraordinary strength, or the declara- 
tion will result in serious loss. If the dealer has not 
a trick in his hand, dummy must be stronger than 
both his adversaries combined. On the principle that 
if dummy is going to declare on average strength, 
or a little more, the dealer should have average 
strength to support him, they insist that if the dealer 
has no such strength as dummy will trust him for, he 
should not allow dummy to make this mistake, but 
should declare his own weakness in advance by calling 
spades. 

85 



86 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



The dealer is supposed to declare with the expecta- 
tion of finding dummy with an average hand, say 
three probable tricks. If he does not call, but asks 
dummy to declare, it is assumed that dummy will 
credit the dealer with average cards, or three probable 
tricks. If the dealer has not three probable tricks, 
he invites the dummy to declare on false premises; 
therefore, with less than three probable tricks the 
dealer should call spades, unless he holds some such 
hand as five clubs to two honours and makes it clubs. 

Unfortunately, the authors who lay down this rule 
of three tricks lose no time in departing from it when 
they get down to details. One who strongly insists 
on the dealer's calling spades unless he has three prob- 
able tricks, afterward says the dealer should not pass 
unless he is as strong as two properly guarded queens. 
This is a long way from three tricks, because with a 
trump declaration a queen is not reckoned worth more 
than half a trick. 

That dummy will occasionally lay down an in- 
vincible no-trumper or four honours in hearts, or ten 
certain tricks in diamonds, does not matter; because 
the points that might have been made with such hands 
would all be lost again in the course of time through 
repeated losses on hands on which the dealer should 
have called spades. 

Another argument in favour of the defensive decla- 
ration is that it gives the dummy confidence enough to 



DEFENSIVE DECLARATIONS 87 



call his hands to their full value. He knows that the 
dealer must have something or he would not have 
passed the make at all, but would have declared spades 
himself. 

Some very good players look upon the defensive call 
as the backbone of bridge, and insist that their success 
is entirely due to its use. They say those who do not 
use it succeed because they are playing against others 
equally foolish. Others maintain that the defensive 
call is an insult to the intelligence of the dummy and 
an insinuation that he does not know enough about the 
game to declare safely when the dealer trusts to his 
judgment. 

It is interesting to note that in Southern Europe it 
is the custom not to pass without at least one trick 
in hearts. While this may encourage the dumimy to 
make forward heart calls, it often puts the dealer him- 
self in difficulties, because he may have three good 
tricks in the black suits, but nothing in hearts, yet he 
cannot pass the make for fear his partner will call 
hearts with only three or four average cards in the 
suit. 

One of the strongest advocates of the defensive 
declaration comes down to one certain trick in the 
dealer's hand as sufficient to justify him in passing. 
He supports this by the extraordinary statement that if 
the dealer passes without a trick in his hand he will 
probably lose three by cards; but that if the dealer 



88 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

has a single trick, he and dummy will most likely win 
the odd between them. 

One of the best teachers in America considers that 
if the make is left to the dummy when the dealer has 
not a trick in his hand, the result will be disastrous 
nine times out of ten. At thet same time he recom- 
mends leaving it with one sure trick, because that will 
enable the dealer to get the lead at least once if it is 
to his advantage to give the dummy a finesse in any 
suit. In such a case the ability to get the lead into the 
dealer's hand would probably be worth two tricks. 

One of the London journals that devotes some space 
to card matters published some statistics to prove that 
the defensive declaration by the dealer would win in 
the long run; but, unfortunately, the opinions of the 
editor are largely discounted by the fact that he is not 
in touch with the bridge-playing community, and 
makes no allowance for human nature, or for the 
varying ability of players. 

The leading authorities in England do not believe 
in the defensive call. They generally insist that the 
dealer should confine himself to the attack, leaving de- 
fensive makes to the dummy. As one of them puts it, 
dummy's vexation at missing a rubber with a very 
strong hand in hearts or no trumps, by being bound 
to a player who cannot pass the declaration, is far 
greater than his satisfaction at saving a few points 
through the dealer's cautiousness or want of confi- 



DEFENSIVE DECLARATIONS 89 

dence in his partner. When the original protective 
call succeeds, it saves so little, when it fails, it loses 
so much. '' Badsworth," who is acknowledged one of 
the best players in England, says that the idea of the 
protective declaration assumes that you are protecting 
your partner from loss, but that few partners like to 
feel this protecting hand continually extended over 
them, as if they were incapable of taking care of 
themselves. 

There is one aspect of the question that seems to 
have been generally overlooked, and that is, that pass- 
ing the make is one of the chances of the game. When 
the dealer declares, he does so on the probabilities of 
the cards; on the theory that dummy holds an average 
hand. If dummy does not hold it, the dealer's declara- 
tion will frequently result in loss. It would seem that 
for the dummy to declare and find the dealer unusually 
weak is no worse than for the dealer to make it and 
find the dummy has nothing. This is part of the 
chances of the game; one of the things that make it a 
game and not an exact science. If the defensive decla- 
ration is persisted in and becomes the fashion, we shall 
soon have some convention suggested by which the 
dealer may be warned that the dummy has nothing. 

The author has tried both systems, and for three 
months conscientiously used the defensive call every 
time he did not hold one certain trick or two prob- 
able. This was with and against the best players of 



90 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

his acquaintance, and the result was not particularly 
satisfactory. It certainly seemed to save a few points; 
but the life, the spirit of the game was gone. It be- 
came too much like trying to win other people's money, 
instead of playing the game for the amusement there 
was in it and the good company that went with it. 



DOUBLING AND REDOUBLING 

The adversaries have nothing to say until the 
declaration has been made. Once legitimately made, 
this declaration cannot be changed, but the adversaries 
may increase the value of the trick points if they think 
that they, and not the dealer, will probably make the 
odd trick. 

If the adversaries double, the dealer's side may 
double them again. It is important to bear in mind 
that the player who declares the trump has the first 
right to redouble, and that only when he says '' con- 
tent " has his partner the privilege of taking it up if 
he wishes to do so. When a player who has doubled 
is redoubled, it is his first say as to going on or not. 
If he stops, his partner can take it up. 

The usual conversation of the game is about as 
follows: Eldest hand says, " Shall I play? " The pone 
says, " I double hearts," the dealer having declared 
that suit. The dealer says, *' I redouble," or " I make 
it thirty-two." The pone says he has enough. Then 
the eldest hand says he will redouble again, making 
hearts worth sixty-four. The dealer says he is con- 
tent, and thereupon the dummy says 'he will make it 
one hundred and twenty-eight. The eldest hand is 

9» 



92 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

content. Now the pone can take it up again, al- 
though he has once said he was content, because his 
partner's doubling may encourage him to continue. 
If he will not redouble, both partners on one side 
being content, the eldest hand must proceed to lead 
a card. 

It is now the general rule that all doubling shall 
cease when the value of one trick passes one hundred 
points. 

Doubling has no effect on any of the scores that go 
into the honour column. 

Doubling should rarely be indulged in by the be- 
ginner, as it requires experience and judgment, but 
there are cases in which it should be obvious that 
doubling would be an advantage. The principal 
things to be considered in doubling are the score and 
the position of the declaring hand ; whether on your 
right or left. The score is most important. If the 
odd trick wins the game for the dealer without 
doubling its value, and you have a fair chance to win 
the odd trick yourself, you should double. But if the 
odd trick will win the game for you without doubling, 
and will not win the game for the dealer, you should 
never double unless you have a certainty. 

The position of the make affects the value of your 
trumps and high cards, because when the make is on 
your right, high trumps which are not in sequence, 
such as A, Q, lO, or K, J, 9, are more valuable, and 



DOUBLING AND REDOUBLING 



93 



high cards in plain suits are less likely to be led 
through. 

Beginners should clearly understand the meaning of 
being led through, which is the same as being made 
second player on a trick. Suppose you are eldest hand 
and hold king and one small card in a suit, dummy 
having ace and queen. If you are led through, your 
king is gone; but if dummy has to lead that suit to 
you, your king must make a trick. The value of any 
high card but the ace is largely decreased when it is 
likely to be led through, and is greatly increased when 
it is likely to be led up to. As a rule, you may assume 
that when the player on your left is the declaring 
hand, the strength is in that hand, and when the 
strength is on your left your cards are not as valuable 
as when the make is on your right, because of the like- 
lihood that they will be led through. 

This is a very important feature in the tactics of 
the game, and should be thoroughly understood. 

Compare these hands, hearts trumps in both cases: 

Hand 39. Hand 40. 

I^AQIOS ^KJ4 

*K753 *AQ73 

tAK62 ♦J52 

^9 4|b A K 8 
/ 
In No. 39, if the make is on your right, your trumps 

should be worth three tricks, because the dealer, who 
called hearts, most likely has. two honours, K and J. 



94 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



Both your high diamonds and the club king may 
be counted on for tricks, so that you may be said to 
have six probable tricks in your own hand, and only 
one is needed from your partner to give you the odd. 
No. 39 is therefore a very good hand to double on, 
and with such cards, instead of asking, " Shall I 
play?" you should say, "I double hearts." 

Reverse the position of the make, and suppose that 
dummy called hearts in No. 39, and your trumps may 
not be worth more than one trick, as dummy almost 
certainly holds king and jack, and the dealer will 
lead through your queen and ten. Your club king 
may also be led through and caught if dummy has 
the ace; but even if the club king wins, your hand is 
not worth more than four tricks. Such being the case, 
it is a poor hand to double on if the make is on your 
left. 

If the dealer should call hearts on No. 40 and you 
were eldest hand, your trumps would probably be good 
for two tricks and your tenace in clubs two more, 
so that such a hand would be a good one to double 
on if the make were on your right. 

But if dummy called hearts on No. 40, your trumps 
would not be worth more than one trick, and might 
not make that even. Your clubs would probably be 
led through, and the ace found to be the only sure 
trick, so that the whole hand is not worth more than 
four tricks, perhaps three only, simply on account of 



Illustrative Hand No. 2 



Showing the advantage of doubling Hearts when 
the make is on your right. Z dealt. A leads after 
doubling. 

A J 4- 

f Q J 7 3 

^ KQ105 2 



V A Q105 

* K 7 5 3 

>^ A K 6 2 

♦ 9 




8 2 

Jt, 109 8 6 
'■ 9 4 
^ J 8 7 4 3 



TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


K f 


3 ^ 


9 ♦ 


5 


a 


A 


7 -t: 


4 ^ 


8 


3 


2 


J 


2 


lO 


4: 


^^ lO 


3 


8 


9 


5 


9 4|b 


Q ♦ 


3 4|b 


6 4k 


6 


* K 


A J 


* 6 


* 2 


T 


* 3 


« 4 


* 8 


* Q 


8 


Q 


' 7 


4 4|k 


4 


9 


* 5 


2 ^ 


* 9 


* A 


10 


A 


5 4 


7 4k 


' 6 


11 


* 7 


lO 4k 


♦ lO 


^ J 


13 


^^ 5 


Q ♦ 


8 # 


K 


13 


6 ♦ 


K # 


J ♦ 


A 4k 



A-B win the odd trick. 



96 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

the position of the strong hand that declared the 
trump. This shows that No. 40 would be a very poor 
hand on which to double if dummy made the trump. 

The same principles hold good if the pone holds the 
cards. He should double if the make is on his right; 
he should not if it is on his left. 

In order that the reader may see how these prin- 
ciples work out in practice, he may turn to Illustrative 
Hands Nos. 2 and 3. In both of them the eldest hand 
holds the same cards as in example No. 39, but in 
No. 2 hearts are declared by the dealer, and the eldest 
hand doubles. In No. 3, hearts are declared by the 
dummy, and the eldest hand carefully refrains from 
doubling. It will be seen that the hands held by the 
dealer and his partner are identical in both cases, but 
transposed. The difference in result is entirely due 
to the difference m the position of the opposing strong 
hands — those held by the declarer and by the eldest 
hand. 

At trick 7 in No. 2, it will be seen that A 
puts the dealer into the lead, giving him the club 
trick that he must win, so as to be sure of making 
both his trumps, which gives A the odd trick. In 
No. 3, observe that the dealer, Z, wins the fourth 
trick, so as to lead trumps to the dummy and finesse. 
It IS not necessary for him to win two tricks in clubs. 

When the call is no trumps, and you are eldest 
hand, you must go on probabilities in doubling, unless 



Illustrative Hand No. 3 

Showing disadvantage of doubling Hearts when 
the make is on your left. Z deals. A leads. 



^ A Q105 

♦ K 7 5 3 
4 A K 6 2 

♦ 9 




¥ 8 2 

* 109 8 6 

♦ 94 

^ J 8 7 4 3 



TRICK 


A 


V 


B 


Z 


1 


K4 


5 ♦ 


9 ♦ 


3 , 


2 


A ♦ 


s ♦ 


4 4 


7 4 


3 


2 ♦ 


lOf 


^ 2 


J « 


4 


9 4 


6 ♦ 


8 # 


K # 


5 


^ 5 


^ J 


1^ 8 


V 7 


6 


^ lO 


A # 


3 # 


2 4k 


7 


6 i 


* 2 


* 6 


Q 


8 


♦ 3 


♦ Q 


4 # 


Q ♦ 


9 


^ A 


^ 4 


A 8 


W 3 


10 


* 5 


4k A 


A 9 


4k 4 


11 


^ Q 


V K 


4k lO 


* J 


13 


* 7 


f^ 9 


7 4k 


5 4k 


13 


A K 


^ 6 


J ♦ 


io# 



The dealer wins two by cards. 



98 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

you have a certainty of the odd trick, which is not 
often the case. With a suit of six cards headed by the 
A, K, Q, the probability of catching the J is so great 
that you may count on it, yet it is not a certainty, 
even with seven or eight of the suit. With such a 
chance as six probable tricks in one suit, and a trick 
in another suit, such as an ace, you should double no 
trumps. A suit of six cards and another trick which 
is only probable, such as a K, Q suit, is not so good, 
as the second suit may never be led a second time, 
but it is a fair risk. 

One long strong suit and the lead is the best posi- 
tion for doubling a no-trumper. It is dangerous to 
double on an all-round hand in which you have no 
established long suit, because when you have such a 
hand it will usually turn out that the dealer has one 
great suit on which he will force you to discard, and 
you will not know what to keep. 

Compare these hands, both no-trumpers: 



Hand 41. 


Hand 42. 


^642 


^ KQ4 


4 A 6 


4k A K 


^ A KQ 7 5 3 


Q J 10 7 5 


♦ 95 


♦ Q J 9 



In No. 41, having the lead, you will probably make 
seven tricks immediately. But in No. 42, if you begin 
with the diamonds, you will most likely find the dealer 
with both ace and king, and he will clear up his hearts 



DOUBLING AND REDOUBLING 99 

or spades before you get your diamonds established. 
What cards would you let go if you were compelled 
to make tw^o discards after you had forced out the ace 
and king of diamonds? While No. 42 looks very 
strong, it is not strong enough to double on, because 
its strength is too scattered. 

The best rule for the beginner, as eldest hand, is 
to double no trumps on six sure tricks and a probable 
seventh, all in two suits. 

The pone should not double a no-trumper in Amicr- 
ica unless he is willing to have the eldest hand lead his 
best heart, that being the usual convention. In Eng- 
land and the colonies it is largely the custom for the 
eldest hand to guess at his partner's suit when the 
pone doubles a no-trumper. The pone cannot double 
as freely as the eldest hand, because he has not the 
advantage of the lead. 

Either pla5^er may double a trump declaration, but 
with the usual precautions as to the position of the make. 

To double hearts or diamonds you should have five 
sure tricks and a probable sixth, and three of the 
tricks should be in trumps. 

To double a club you should have five tricks and a 
probable sixth, at least two of them in trumps. 

To double spades, especially if called by the dummy, 
you should have four sure tricks and a probable fifth, 
one of which at least should be in trumps. 

Some players make it a rule to double any red 



100 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



trump if their hand counts up to ten, reckoning it as 
if it were for a declaration ; to double clubs if it counts 
up to nine, and spades if it counts up to eight. But 
this style of counting is unreliable, on account of the 
difference in the value of the cards according to the 
position of the make, which can be taken into account 
better in reckoning up the probable tricks. 

For practice, the reader may take a pack of cards 
and sort out such a hand as No. 25 in the examples 
of the makes on which hearts would be declared. 
After shuffling the remainder of the pack, thirteen may 
be taken at a time and examined to see how often a 
hand would come up that would justify doubling. 
The same thing may be done after laying aside a fair 
no-trumper, such as No. 8 of the examples given. 

The reader may write '' Yes " or " No " opposite 
the numbers of the following hands, as an answer to 
the question whether or not he would double on such 
cards as eldest hand, hearts declared by the dealer. 



DOUBLING AND REDOUBLING loi 



Test Hands for Doubling 



9 KQ4. 


No. 2 7. 


V Q J 8 6 


No. 28. 


* A Q 6 5 




* K 5 




4 K J 7 3 2 




♦ 9 3 




♦ 9 




4|k A KQ 6 4 




W K Q106 


No. 29. 


V J 6 4 2 


No. 30. 


4k A K 




* Q J 103 




♦ K J 5 




♦ AQS 




♦ 8532 




^ A K 





On the following, suppose dummy called hearts, 
would you double with either of them? 



No. 31. 
^ A Q 6 4 

♦ KQ 5 

♦ A Q3 

♦ K J 8 



No. 32. 
9 KQ106 
4k A K 
♦ Q J 10 
^ KQ J 5 



LEADING, WHEN THERE IS A 
TRUMP 

There is a great difference in leading against trump 
declarations and against no-trumpers, and they must 
be separately considered, because they are almost en- 
tirely different games. 

In playing against no-trumpers, the object is to 
make the small cards of your longest suit good for 
tricks, keeping the high cards in shorter suits for 
re-entries. 

The object in playing against trump declarations is 
to get home all the tricks you can before the dealer 
draws all your trumps and makes his long suit ; because 
on this long suit in one hand he will discard from the 
other hand the losing cards he holds in the suits of 
which you hold the high cards. 

The two golden rules in playing against a trump 
call are: Get a look at the dummy's cards before 
losing the lead, if you can; and. Don't carry home 
any aces. 

The dealer having picked out the trump to suit 
himself is probably long in trumps and may usually 
be counted on for five at least. He is going to use 

102 



LEADING 103 



these trumps to protect and bring in his long suit. 
If he has no long suit, he is probably going to ruff 
and make his trumps separately. The cards he is 
going to ruff are your winning cards. It is your 
business as his adversary to divine his object as rapidly 
as possible, and take steps to defeat it. The following 
rules for leading against trump declarations are gen- 
eral; details will follow presently. 

1. Length in the suit is unimportant; high cards 
are everything. 

2. Leads of an honour from three in sequence are 
the best. 

3. Leads of an honour from two in sequence are the 
next best. 

4. Leads of any kind from two honours not in 
sequence are bad. 

5. Leads from suits headed by a single honour 
which is not the ace are the worst. 

6. Trumps should not be led unless all the plain 
suits are worse leads than the trump suit. 

The most important thing for the eldest hand is to 
get a look at dummy's cards and still hold the trick; 
therefore, if he holds a plain suit headed by both ace 
and king, he should always begin with that. If he has 
no suit headed by both ace and king, but has an ace, 
without either queen or jack w^ith it, he should lead 
the ace. 

It is most important for the eldest hand to re- 



104 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



member that if he opens a suit headed by the ace, 
without the king, he should always lead the ace. This 
is usually expressed by saying, '' Never lead away from 



an ace." 



In all the following examples hearts are supposed 
to have been declared by the dealer, unless otherwise 
stated. 

Compare these hands: 

Hand 43. Hand 44. 

V Q 5 3 ^ 10 6 3 

*95 *A753 

♦ AK64 ♦KJe 

♦KQJ2 ♦KB^ 

In No. 43, although there are three honours in 
spades, the diamond king is the better opening, be- 
cause it holds the lead until dummy's cards are 
laid down. In No. 44, the club ace is the best 
opening for the same reason, and also because the 
two other suits are bad ones to lead away from. See 
Rule 4. 

For an example of the importance of holding the 
lead until dummy's cards are seen, the reader is re- 
ferred to Illustrative Hand No. 4. In this hand A-B 
win the odd trick; but if A opens with the spade suit, 
the dealer wins three by cards easily, as will be seen 
by playing the hand that way. By holding the lead 
until he sees dummy, A is able to take advantage of 
the opportunity to lead through dummy's strong suit, 



Illustrative Hand No. 4 

Holding the lead until you see Dummy's cards. Z 
deals and calls Hearts. A leads. 



¥ Q 5 3 

4 9 5 

♦ A K 6 4 

♦ KQ J 2 




^92 

* A Q 8 4 

♦ 93 

# 9 8 7 4 3 



TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


K ♦ 


2 ♦ 


9 ♦ 


5 ♦ 


3 


* 9 


4 3 


* Q 


* 2 


3 


A ^ 


7 4 


3 ♦ 


lO ♦ 


4: 


* 5 


* 6 


* A 


4L 7 


5 


^ 3 


4k lO 


4k 8 


* J 


6 


6 ♦ 


8 4 


# 9 


J ♦ 


T 


^Q 


* K 


* 4 


^lO 


8 
9 


4 i 

^f 5 


Q ^ 
^ A 


V 2 

3 # 


^4 

^^ 6 


10 


2 4|b 


^ 7 


4 4k 


<P 8 


11 


J ♦ 


5 # 


7 4k 


V K 


la 


Q ♦ 


6 4)k 


8 4k 


^ J 


13 


K ^ 


lO # 


9 4k 


A 4k 



A-B win the odd trick, 



io6 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



instead of establishing the diamonds against himself. 
At trick 3, B returns the diamonds, so as to establish 
the cross ruff. 

Compare these hands: 

Hand 45. Hand 46. 

*AQ3 *K532 

♦KJ7 40864 

^ J 10 5 3 #98 

In No. 45, the spade jack is the best opening, there 
being two honours in sequence, while both the other 
suits are headed by two honours which are not in se- 
quence. See Rule 3. 

In No. 46, both the suits headed by single honours 
are bad leads (see Rule 5), and the best opening is the 
short spade suit. 

Compare these hands: 

Hand 47. Hand 48. 

V 6 4. f K 

♦AQ75 ♦K864 

♦K62 iAQ75 3 

♦A983 #092 

In No. 47, the spade ace is a better opening than 
the club ace, because the club ace is accompanied by 
the queen. 

In No. 48, the diamond ace is a better opening than 
a suit headed by a single honour which is not the ace. 
See Rule 5. 



Illustrative Hand No, 5 

Showing advantage of an original lead of trumps. 
Z deals. Y calls Clubs, and A leads. 



V A 3 

4^ A K 9 
♦ KQ J 8 
# K105 2 



* Q J 106 4 

♦ A 7 5 4 

♦ 9743 




^ KQ109 7 6 
A 5 3 

♦ 109 6 2 

♦ 8 



TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


* K 


A 4 


♦ 3 




* 2 


3 


* A 


« 6 


♦ 5 




♦ 7 


3 


* 9 


♦ lO 


, ^ 6 




* 8 


4: 


K # 


3 ^ 


8 


♦ 


Q ♦ 


5 


K ♦ 


A : 


2 


i 


3 4 


6 


2 ^ 


4 # 


^ 7 




J ♦ 


7 


# A 


4k J 


-^ 9 




¥• J 


8 


J <! 


7 ♦ 


9 


4 


^ 2 


9 


^ 3 


* Q 


^ lO 




^ 4 


10 


Q ♦ 


5 e 


6 


^ 


^ 5 


11 


8 ♦ 


4 ^ 


lO 


# 


^ 8 


12 


5 ^ 


7 # 


K 




A # 


13 


lO ^ 


9 41^ 


Q 




6 # 



A-B win two by cards. 



io8 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

Compare these hands: 

Hand 49. Hand 50. 

IT 7 5 ¥ 10 9 

«K62 4kKJ64 

♦ Q 9 7 3 ♦a QIO 

♦ 8 6 5 3 ^ Q105 3 

In No. 49, the best opening is the spade, because 
there is no honour in the suit and no chance to win 
a trick in it, while both the other plain suits are bad 
ones to lead away from and nothing is to be gained 
by leading the trump. In No. 50, the best opening 
is the trump, because all the plain suits are bad ones 
to lead away from. 

Beginners seldom realise the value of a trump open- 
ing as a defence. It gives the partner a key to the 
hand at once, telling him that all the plain suits are 
such that you prefer him to lead them to you than 
to open them yourself. If the reader will look at 
Illustrative Hand No. 5 he will see that if A does 
not lead trumps originally he will lose three by cards 
easily, as the dealer will get a cross ruff in the red 
suits. Observe how the dealer holds the tenace in 
spades over A and tries to make A lead up to him, 
and how A avoids the trap set for him by overtaking 
his partner's diamond when Z does not follow suit. 



Illustrative Hand No. 6 

Showing advantage of forcing the strong trump 
hand. Z deals and calls Hearts. A leads. 





V 


9 4 2 








4 K 






♦ Q J 7 6 4 2 






♦ 


108 5 






^ AQ5 




Y 




¥ 8 6 


Jk Q105 




A B 




* J 9 7 


♦ 8 






4 K109 5 3 


^ A KQ 6 4 2 




Z 




♦ J 9 3 




9 


K J 107 S 


p 






♦ A 8 6 4 3 2 






♦ A 






♦ 


7 







TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


K ^ 


5 4|k 


3 4k 


7 4^ 


3 


Q ♦ 


8 # 


9 # 


V 3 


3 


♦ 5 


♦ K 


♦ 7 


4k 2 


4: 


V Q 


V 9 


V 6 


V 7 


5 


A ^ 


lO # 


J ♦ 


^ lO 


6 


V A 


^ 2 


V 8 


V J 


7 


^ 5 


1^ 4 


3 4 


V K 


8 


4k lO 


2 ♦ 


A 9 


A A 


9 


* Q 


4 4 


* J 


* 3 


10 


6 # 


6 ♦ 


5 ♦ 


4k 4 


11 


4 # 


7 ♦ 


9 4 


* 6 


12 


2 # 


J ♦ 


lO 4 


* 8 


13 


8 ♦ 


Q ♦ 


K 4 


A ♦ 



A-B win the odd trick. 



no COMPLETE BRIDGE 



Compare these hands: 




Hand 51 


Hand 52. 


8 6 


V J 7 5 


* A Q 7 5 3 


♦ 9 8 4 2 


4 7 6 2 


4 A 8 6 


♦ A 4 


♦ 6 4 3 



In No. 51, the club ace is a better opening than the 
spade ace, because the club suit is so long that it is 
unlikely it will ever take two tricks by waiting for 
some one else to lead it. Compare this hand with No. 
47, in which the A, Q suit is shorter. In No. 52, 
the diamond ace is the best opening, because there is 
nothing else in the hand, and this lead at least secures 
the advantage of getting a look at dummy's cards and 
so being better able to judge what to do next. 

Some players are very fond of leading from a short 
suit in the hope of making their small trumps. This 
is all very well if the trumps are useless, except for 
ruffing, but it is usually bad policy to play for a ruff 
when you have four trumps and a fair suit, because if 
you can force the dealer to trump, instead of trumping 
yourself, you will probably bring his strength in 
trumps down to your level and will often break up his 
hand. 

If the reader will look at Illustrative Hand No. 6, 
he will see the fatal effects of two forces on the 
dealer's strong trump hand. It may be pointed out 
that the dealer should not have attempted to get out 



LEADING III 



the trumps at all with this hand, but should have led 
the ace of clubs after trumping the second round of 
spades and cross-ruffed right along, which would have 
given him four by cards and the game to a certainty„ 
By leading the small club, so as to get the position for 
the finesse in the trump suit, the dealer throws him- 
self open to the deadly second force. A continues the 
trump lead to prevent dummy from making a small 
trump on the spades. 

If you have no good suit, and only three or four 
small trumps, you may play for a ruff if you have a 
short suit and no other good opening lead. 

Compare these hands: 

Hand 53. Hand 54. 

^6432 ^652 

*J7543 AAQe^ 

^8 486 

#K95 #AJ32 

In No. 53, there is nothing to be accomplished by 
leading either of the black suits, even with four trumps 
to support them, and the singleton diamond seems to 
be the best chance. 

In No. 54, both the black suits are headed by two 
honours not in sequence, and instead of leading the 
ace from either of those, it is better to try the short 
diamonds, hoping to make one or two of the small 
trumps, or at least to get the tenaces in the black 
suits led up to. 



112 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

A tenace, it should be explained, is the best and 
the third best of a suit, such as A, Q. Its advantage 
lies in the fact that if you are the last player on the 
trick, or the third player when dummy is on your 
left and has not the king, you must make two tricks; 
whereas, if you lead away from the tenace you make 
one trick only, unless your partner has the king. Ten- 
aces are most valuable, especially in the trump suit, 
when the strength is on your right. 

When the dealer has passed the make to the dummy, 
it is usually safer to open the hand with a red suit 
than with a black one, because the dealer is pre- 
sumably weaker in red than in black. Such is not 
always the case, of course, but in the long run the 
odds are in favour of leading a red suit to a passing 
hand. 

Compare these hands, dummy calling diamonds in 
both: 

Hand 55. Hand 56. 

^J53 VK64.2 

4kA862 4kAJ5 

4 K 9 5 493 

♦AJ4 ♦K873 

In No. 55, the heart jack is the best opening, be- 
cause the dealer is probably weak in that suit, and 
your black aces will probably be more useful later on 
for killing some of the dealer's high cards. In No. 
56, clubs being a bad suit to open, the choice between 



LEADING 113 



hearts and spades should be decided in favour of the 
red suit. 

Some players make it a rule never to lead a small 
card of a black suit up to a dealer who has passed 
the make, unless the small black card is a singleton. 
The idea is that in leading a black suit without a win- 
ning card in it, up to a player who is presumably strong 
in the black suits, there should be some compensating 
advantage. This is the hope of making a small trump 
on the second round. 

When your partner has doubled a red trump, there 
is no hurry about leading trumps, unless the make is 
on your left, and even then it is not essential. It is 
better to get a look at dummy's cards first if you can. 
When clubs or spades are doubled, it is usually better 
to see dummy's cards before leading trumps, unless 
your own suits are bad ones to open. Some players 
persist in leading trumps when spades are doubled, in- 
stead of showing their best suit first, or holding the 
lead until dummy's cards are laid down. 



LEADING, WHEN THERE IS NO 
TRUMP 

The selection of a suit for the opening lead against 
a no-trumper is based on entirely different principles 
from those which govern the player in leading against 
a trump declaration. In a no-trumper, the dealer is 
strong, or protected, in three suits at least, and your 
only chance is to pick out his weak spot or to break 
down some of his protection before he gets his long 
suk established. 

A suit is said to be established when a player can 
take every remaining trick in it, no matter by whom 
it is led. 

If you have not three winning cards in any suit, 
your play must be to establish your long suit so as to 
make the smaller cards of it good for tricks. 

The lead is a great advantage at no trump, and the 
eldest hand should be careful not to throw it away. 
The first lead gives you the first move toward estab- 
lishing a suit, which is very important. 

In all the following examples the declaration of no 

trumps is supposed to have been made by the dealer, 

who sits on your right, and the cards shown are those 

held by the eldest hand. 

114 





LEADING 




115 


Compare these hands: 






Hand 57. 




Hand 58. 


' 


^ Q J 6 3 




^ A 8 6 4 3 




* Q 7 5 




* A K 7 




f A K 9 2 




i 5 




♦ 7 3 




♦ J 8 3 2 





In No. 57, the two red suits are equal in length, 
but if you begin with the diamonds the hearts are 
probably worthless, because you have no re-entry card 
to bring them into play after they are cleared or estab- 
lished; but if you open the hand by leading the hearts, 
you may make two tricks in that suit by getting into 
the lead with the winning diamonds. In No. 58, if you 
begin with the single diamond you not only accomplish 
nothing, but you give away the advantage of the lead. 
If you begin with the clubs, leading the ace and king, 
you will probably make the queen good in the dealer's 
hand. By beginning with your longest suit, hearts, 
you will probably force the high cards out of your way, 
and upon getting in again with the clubs, you can very 
likely establish your small hearts and make tricks with 
them. 

If the reader will turn to Illustrative Hand No. 7, 
he will see how this theory works out in practice. 
There is no necessity to lead the ace first, because 
there is not the danger of losing it that exists when 
there is a trump suit to kill it. By opening his longest 
suit and getting in with his high clubs, A saves the 



ii6 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



game. At trick lO, it should be observed that the 
dealer dare not finesse, because he would lose not only 
the diamond trick but the game if the finesse failed. 
If the hand is played over, opening it with the high 
clubs, which would be the proper play against a 
declared trump, the dealer wins the game easily, even 
if he finesses the diamond and lets the lone king 
make. 

Compare these hands: 

Hand 59. Hand 60. 

^J8 VK864 

* A Q 5 2 4k J 

4 K J 6 4 4 Q 10 5 3 

♦Q72 ♦A972 

In No. 59, the heart is the only suit that can be 
opened without any further disadvantage than losing 
the lead. The others are all bad suits to open, being 
too short to justify any attempt to establish them, and 
being headed by honours which are not in sequence, 
or single honours which may win tricks if they are 
kept guarded. The high cards in these suits will 
probably be useful in stopping the dealer's suits, as 
the strength is on your right. In No. 60, the single- 
ton jack is probably a better opening than any of the 
four-card suits. 

Illustrative Hands Nos. 8 and 9 are good examples 
of the advantage of leading a short suit from such 
cards as those shown in No. 59, and the disadvantage 



Illustrative Hand No. 7 

Showing the advantage of opening the longest suit 
at no trump. Z deals and calls no trump. A leads. 



^ A 8 6 4 3 

♦ A K 7 

♦ K 

♦ J 9 3 2 




^ K Q 9 

A Q106 4 3 

♦ AQ3 

^ AlO 



V J 7 

4k 9 8 

♦ 107 5 

♦ K 8 6 5 4 



THICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


^ 4 


V 2 


V 


J 


^? K 


3 


* K 


A 2 


4k 


8 


* Q 


3 


3 


^ 5 


V 


7 


^ Q 


4: 


4 A 


* 5 


4k 


9 


* lO 


5 


A 


V 10 




4 4 


V 9 


6 

7 


8 


2 ♦ 

6 ^ 




5 4)b 
4 ♦ 


3 
lO # 


6 


8 


J ♦ 


Q ♦ 




K # 


A # 


9 


* 7 


* J 




6 # 


4k 3 


10 


K ♦ 


J ♦ 




5 ♦ 


A ♦ 


11 


2 ^ 


8 4 




8 4|k 


4k 6 


13 


3 ^ 


9 ♦ 




7 ♦ 


* 4 


13 


9 ^ 


7 # 




lO ♦ 


Q 1 



The dealer wins two by cards only. 



ii8 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



of failing to open a short suit in preference to suits 
headed by single honours. 

In No. 8, it will be seen that the dealer puts 
dummy in the lead, so as to get position for the finesse 
in clubs, and that B leads up to dummy's weakness 
in diamonds. A cleverly puts the dealer in the lead 
with the suit which he must make, so as to compel 
him to lead away from his tenace in diamonds or 
establish the queen of spades. If the hand is played 
over, opening it with the small diamond, the dealer 
easily makes the odd trick. 

In No. 9, had A opened with the jack of hearts, 
A-B would have won two by cards easily. The stu- 
dent should observe that the dealer does not want any 
finesse in clubs, it being more important to clear the 
suit at once. At trick 4, B returns his partner's 
suit, not knowing but A may hold both ace and queen. 
In this hand the failure to open it properly makes a 
difference of five tricks. 

In playing against a no-trumper, there is no hurry 
about making winning cards in the early part of the 
hand, unless you have at least three such cards in 
one suit. This distinction between leading at trumps 
and at no trumps should be carefully observed: 

With a trump you always lead one of two honours 
in sequence ; with no trump, you never lead an hofiour 
unless you have three of them, or hold six or seven 
cards of the suit. 



Illustrative Hand No. 8 

Showing the advantage of opening with a short suit 
at no trump. Z deals and calls no trump. A leads. 



V J 8 

* A Q 5 2 

♦ K J 6 4 

♦ Q 7 2 




•^ KQ 7 5 

* 9 S 

8 3 2 

♦ K J 4- 3 



TKICK 


A 


^ 


B 


Z 


1 
3 


V J 

2 ^ 


2 
A 4|b 


5 
3 # 


A 
6 # 


3 


* Q 


* 6 


A 8 


4k lO 


4: 


^ 8 


V 9 


Q 


3 


5 


J V 


9 ♦ 


8 ^ 


5 


6 


* 5 


4k 3 


4k 9 


4k J 


^ 


4k A 


4k 4 


3 


4 K 


8 


* 2 


lO ^ 


2 


4k 7 


9 


Q ♦ 


8 ^ 


4 4k 


5 4k 


10 


7 Hk 


9 # 


J ^ 


6 


11 


4 ^ 


lO ♦ 


K ^ 


7 


12 


6 i 


■" 4 


K 


Q 


13 


K ♦ 


V lO 


V 7 


A 



A-B win two by cards. 



120 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

Compare these hands: 

Hand 6i. Hand 62. 

¥ 6 4 2 ¥ A 4 

*KQ86 *62 

♦95 ♦KQ7532 

♦ A732 #095 

In No. 61, it is not necessary to begin with the 
club king with the idea of forcing out the ace and 
making the queen good for a trick, because in a no- 
trumper it is better to keep your high cards for the 
later rounds of the suit. But in No. 62, there are so 
many diamonds that it is better to begin with the high 
ones, on the chance that you prevent both ace and 
jack from making separately if they are against you. 

With six in suit, lead an honour from two honours 
in sequence; with less than six, as a rule, lead small. 

Compare these hands: 

Hand 63. Hand 64. 

6 4 ^75 

4 7 5 ♦ A 9 

♦AK8532 ♦643 

♦972 ♦AK8532 

In No. 63, if you begin with the high diamonds and 
fail to catch the Q, J, lO in the two leads, your hand 
is dead. But if you begin with a small diamond, your 
partner has an even chance to win the first trick, even 
if the queen is in the dummy. Even if he fails to 
win the first round, he may get into the lead on some 



Illustrative Hand No. 9 



Showing the disadvantage of not leading a short 



suit at no trump, 
leads. 



Z deals. Y calls no trump. A 



V J lo 

4k 8 5 2 

♦ J 9 5 3 

♦ K 9 7 4 




K 9 8 7 4 3 
K104. 
A 2 
8 5 



TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


4 4 


lO # 


5 


4k 


3 # 


2 


A 2 


* A 


4k 4 




4k 3 


3 


♦ 5 


* Q 


4k K 




A 6 


4: 


K 4)k 


2 ♦ 


8 


# 


6 # 


5 


^ J 


A 


^3 




^ 5 


6 


A 8 


4k J 


4k lO 




4k 7 


7 


7 4k 


J ♦ 


2 


♦ 


Q ♦ 


8 


9 4|b 


4 ♦ 


V 4 




A # 


9 


3 ♦ 


6 ♦ 


V 7 




4k 9 


10 


5 ♦ 


Q ♦ 


A 


♦ 


7 ♦ 


11 


^\o 


V 2 


^ K 




'^ 6 


13 


9 ♦ 


V Q 


'^ 9 




8 


13 


J ♦ 


K ♦ 


^ 8 




lO -^ 



The dealer wins the game on the hand, 



122 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



other suit and will still have a diamond to return, 
and you will make the whole suit. If you lead the 
high cards first, you are likely to exhaust your part- 
ner's power to put you in again, and you have no 
other card of re-entry. In No. 64, having a card of 
re-entry in another suit, you can afford to follow the 
usual rule and lead the high cards from a suit of six or 
more headed by two honours in sequence. Even if 
you fail to catch all the spades in two leads, you can 
go on with them a third time to establish the re- 
mainder of the suit, hoping .to get in again with the 
club ace. 

Illustrative Hand No. 10 is a good example of the 
advantage of leading low from high cards when there 
is no re-entry except in the suit itself. If A begins 
with the high clubs, the dealer wins the game easily, 
because A destroys his partner's power to put him in 
again. It should be observed that with nine cards 
between the two hands the dealer does not finesse; 
but he leads as if he were going to do so, in order to 
coax the second hand to cover, if the K is there. 

Compare these hands; no trump declared by the 
dummy, on your left: 

Hand 65. Hand 66. 

1P54. 1^Q753 

♦Q7532 ♦K642 

4AKQ2 497 

4 9 8 # A 5 3 



Illustrative Hand No. 1 



Showing the advantage of leading low from high 

A 



cards at no trump. 


Z deals. 


Y calls no trump. 


leads. 


IP A K 4 2 
♦ J 2 






♦ A Q 5 3 


, 




# 


A 7 3 




^r 8 7 3 




Y 


Q 9 5 


* A K 9 7 6 4 

♦ 8 2 




A B 


* 8 3 

♦ K 9 


4^ K8 




Z 


♦ J 9 6 5 4 2 




% 


J 106 






JH Q105 






4 J 10 7 6 


4 




# 


QIO 





TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


4k 7 


♦ 2 


A 3 


* lO 


3 


2 ♦ 


A ^ 


9 


J ^ 


3 


8 4 


Q ^ 


K 


4 


4: 


* K 


* J 


4k 8 


* 5 


5 


* A 


3 ^ 


2 4k 


* Q 


6 


* 9 


7 # 


4 4k 


^ 6 


7 


* 6 


2 


5 4k 


V lO 


8 


* 4 


4 


6 4k 


# J 


9 


8 ^ 


A # 


9 4k 


lO 4k 


10 


3 


^ A 


5 


Q 4k 


11 
12 


- 7 

■V' 8 


5 ^ 
3 ♦ 


9 
Q 


6 1 


lO 


13 


K ^ 


^ K 


J 4k 


7 . 



The dealer wins the odd trick only. 



124 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



In No. 65, although the black suit is longer, it 
has very little possibilities, and when you have a suit 
with three winning tricks in it that is always a better 
opening than any. long weak suit. Lead diamonds 
first, even if only once, so as to see upon what cards 
dummy has declared no trumps. In No. 66, there 
is nothing to choose between the hearts and the clubs, 
but as the dealer has passed the make, he is likely 
weaker in hearts than in clubs, and it is better to open 
the red suit when you have a choice. 

Illustrative Hand No. 11 is a good example of how 
this principle of leading a red suit to a passing hand 
works out in practice. If A opens the black suit, the 
dealer will certainly win three by cards and the game, 
perhaps four by cards. It will be seen that B does 
not return the heart, which would be giving dummy 
the advantage of the tenace position, but leads up to 
dummy's weak suit instead. The dealer covers the 
jack with the ace, that being the best chance to make 
two tricks in the suit. On getting in again, B per- 
sists in his lead to weakness. 

When your partner has doubled a no-trumper, it 
is conventional in America to lead your best heart, 
unless you have an A, K suit, from which you can 
lead the king first, not only to get a look at dummy, 
but to inform your partner of a suit in which he can 
put you in the lead again at any time. When the 
heart convention is not used, you must guess at your 



Illustrative Hand No. 1 1 



Showing the advantage of leading a red suit when 



the dealer passes, 
leads. 



Z deals. Y calls no trump. A 



V K 8 6 5 

JH 8 5 

♦ Q 6 2 

♦ K 9 6 5 




W Q104 3 

* Q J 2 

^ J 107 4 

♦ J lO 



TJIICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


V 5 




¥ 2 




V lO 


v^^ 9 


a 


5 


♦ 


4 


♦ 


J ♦ 


A 41^ 


3 


* 5 




4k A 




* 2 


4k 3 


4: 


* 8 




*io 




* J 


A K 


5 


6 


♦ 


* 4 




* Q 


* 6 


6 


K 


# 


7 


# 


lO # 


Q ♦ 


7 


9 


# 


3 


♦ 


4 4 


2 # 


8 


^ 8 




^ 7 




V 3 


8 ♦ 


9 


^ K 




V A 




^ 4 


9 ♦ 


10 


2 


♦ 


A 


_i 


7 <■ 


3 ^ 


11 


6 


♦ 


K 


.♦ 


lO ♦ 


8 ♦ 


13 


Q 


_! 


5 


♦ 


J ♦ 


* 7 


13 


^ 6 




^ J 




V Q 


* 9 



A-B win the odd trick. 



126 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



partner's suit. Players who lead their weakest suit to 
a partner's double and also discard weakness, are said 
to play the " weak and weak " game. Those who 
lead hearts and discard strength are said to play '^ heart 
and strong." These terms may be mixed to suit the 
case, as " heart and weak " or '' weak and strong," 
but they are usually played straight one way or the 
other. 

For practice in picking out the best suit to open, 
the student may lay aside an average no-trumper for 
the dealer, and then take the remaining thirty-nine 
cards, thirteen at a time, and pick out the best suit to 
open from each of them. The same thing may be 
done after laying aside a fair trump-declaring hand as 
the dealer's, or as the dummy's. 



THE CARD TO LEAD 

The selection of the best suit to open is not the 
only thing for the eldest hand to consider. He has 
a partner, and that partner wants j:o know what he 
holds; what tricks he can win; whether his suit is 
worth playing for or not. 

It should be the object of the leader to secure his 
partner's co-operation by giving him as much infor- 
mation as possible, so that the two hands may w^ork 
together as one. It does not matter that the infor- 
mation is also given to the dealer, because it adds 
little or nothing to what he already knows, as soon 
as he has seen dummy's cards. 

The simplest way to learn the various leads from 
all the different combinations of high cards is to clas- 
sify each of the high-card leads by itself. There are 
five of these " high cards " in bridge — the A, K, Q, 
J, lo. The rule for leading any of these high cards, 
and which one of them should be led from any given 
combination, is very simple if we take each one of 
them separately. 

The King Leads 

When you have determined upon the suit you will 

lead, the next thing is to see if that suit contains a 

127 



128 



COMPLETE BRIDGE 



king, and if so, should you lead it. The king is led 
more frequently than any other high card, and the 
rule for leading it should be the first to master. 

The following will be found to be all the com- 
binations from which it would be correct to lead a 
king when playing against a declared trump. 

The leads against no-trumpers will be discussed 
later. 



The King Leads 



4- 



^Wi 4»lgi 



^ ^ ^ ¥ 




THE CARD TO LEAD 



129 



Now, instead of committing these combinations to 
memory, let us examine them and see . if we cannot 
find some characteristic which is common to all of 
them, so that by recalling that one characteristic we 
shall be able to remember all the combinations and 
therefore all the king leads. 

A moment's attention will show that in every case 
the king is accompanied by the card next to it in 
value; the ace or the queen; sometimes by both of 
them. 

If the king is oftener led than any other high card 
at bridge ; if these are all the combinations of high 
cards which a player can possibly hold from which 
it would be right to lead the king, and if this char- 
acteristic is common to all these combinations, we have 
this rule: 

Having selected your suit, see if it contains a king; 
and if the king is accompanied by the card next to it 
in value, lead it. 

The Ace Leads 

The card which is most commonly led, after the' 
king, is the ace. It must be obvious that the ace is 
never led when it is accompanied by the king, because 
that would be a king lead. The only exception to this 
rule is when the player holds ace and king alone. He 
then leads the ace first, so as to show his partner that 



130 



COMPLETE BRIDGE 



he has no more and can ruff the third round. This 
lead is adopted only with a declared trump suit. 

A very important rule is: if you open any suit 
headed by the ace, always lead the ace if you have 
not the king. This does not mean that you should 
always lead your ace suits, but if you open a suit with 
the ace in it, lead the ace first. 

It has already been pointed out that suits headed 
by the A, Q or A, J are very undesirable ones to 
lead away from, but if you do open them, lead the ace 
first. 

With three or four honours in the suit, such as the 
following, the ace is always the proper lead: 




^Ma 






♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ 



The card that should be led after the ace will be 
taken up later on. 



THE CARD TO LEAD 



131 



The Queen Leads 

The queen, is never led except from the following 
combinations : 




4.^4. 


4. 4. 
4. 4. 


4. 4. 

4- 

4. 4. 



















The rule for the queen lead is that there shall be 
no higher card in the suit, and that it shall always be 
accompanied by the jack, if not the ten or nine also. 



The Jack Leads 

The jack is led only from the following com- 
binations : 






iZ^ k ¥1 L? 

htll 

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ 



132 



COMPLETE BRIDGE 



The exact size of the cards smaller than the nine are 
unimportant. The jack should not be led from more 
than three cards in the suit unless it is accompanied 
by the ten. From such a suit as jack and three or 
four small cards, nothing is to be gained by leading 
the jack unless the ten is with it. 



The Ten Lead 

The ten is led from only one combination of high 
cards : 







♦ ♦ 

♦ ♦ 




♦ 
^ 



When the ten is the highest of three small cards, or 
of two only, it may be led ; but it should never be led 
when it is either the highest of four or more, or when 
it is an interior card, not accompanied by both king 
and jack. To lead the ten from such combinations as 
Q, lO and others only deceives the partner and accom- 
plishes nothing. 

As we shall see when we come to the play of the 
third hand, correctness in the opening leads is most 
important. There is nothing so annoying to a good 
player as to find that he cannot depend on his part- 
ner's leads. The expression which one so frequently 
hears at the bridge table, '' How could I tell what 



THE CARD TO LEAD 



133 



you had?" is never addressed to a person who has 
learned the leads thoroughly. A good partner will 
excuse a great many faults in a beginner if his leads 
are correct. 

Small-Card Leads 

When there is no high-card combination from which 
to lead, or when the player is compelled to lead from 
a suit of four or more, not headed by an ace, the rule 
is always to lead the fourth-best, counting from the 
top. In any of the following combinations of cards 
the fourth-best, and therefore the correct card to lead, 
would be the four: 




M^ ♦♦♦ 

Mm ♦♦♦ 







%' 

%' 

¥ ¥ 




¥ 
¥ 
¥ 






4. 4. 

* 4" 


4. 4. 
4. 4. 


4- 
4- 
4- 






♦ ♦ 


♦ 








4 



The reason for such regularity in the selection of the 
small card will be apparent later. It is very important 



134 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



to get into the habit of leading it uniformly from all 
suits of four or more. 

In speaking of the fourth-best of a suit, the original 
fourth-best is always meant, not the fourth-best of 
those remaining in the hand after one or more cards 
have been played. 

If the reader will turn to any of the illustrative 
hands in this work, he will find that the opening 
leads are always made in conformity with the rules 
here laid down. The dealer can, of course, lead any- 
thing he pleases, because he is not under the necessity 
of giving his partner any information in order to secure 
his successful co-operation in playing the hand. 

It is sometimes objected that giving accurate in- 
formation as to the contents of the leader's hand be- 
trays too much to the dealer. That idea has long since 
been dispelled by the light of experience. In bridge, 
the dealer knows what is against him the moment he 
sees dummy's cards, and the only chance the adver- 
saries have is to put themselves on an equal footing 
with him as far as possible by showing each other 
what they hold between them. A good dealer con- 
siders it worth a trick a hand, on the average, when 
he is opposed to players who do not know the leads 
and the third-hand play. 



THE CARD TO LEAD 135 



The Second Round 

Having led a high card for the first trick, the rule 
is to follow it with a card that will win the next 
trick if you hold it. When you hold two or more 
such cards, play the one that will give your partner 
the most information. 

Take from a pack of cards the A, K, Q, J, 10 of 
any suit and hold them in your hand. The correct 
lead from such a combination is the king; you know 
that. Suppose you have led that card and won the 
first trick. It should be obvious to your partner that 
you hold the ace, as he has not got it, and the dealer 
lets your king win. But he does not know that you 
hold any of the other high cards. 

Never tell your partner anything that he already 
knows when you can tell him something that he does 
not know. 

He knows, if you win the first trick, that you will 
follow with a card that will win the next trick, if you 
hold it. Therefore, if you follow the king with the 
ten he must infer that the ten is as good as the ace, 
or you would not lead the ten with the ace in your 
hand. 

Take these five cards into your hand again and ex- 
change the ten for a small card, such as the six, and 
you will see that after leading the king for the first 
trick you must go on with the jack. This denies the 



136 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

ten, but tells your partner you still hold not only the 
ace but the queen. 

Exchange the jack for a small card, say the four, 
making the hand A, K, Q, 6, 4, and the card to follow 
the king must be the queen, denying the jack. 

Exchange the queen for another small card, say the 
trey, reducing the hand to A, K, 6, 4, 3, and you must 
follow the king with the ace, denying the queen. 

When you have led a card which was not the best, 
but was taken by the best, you may remain with the 
best in your own hand, in which case you should lead 
it if you get in again. Suppose you have led the king 
from K, Q and others, and the ace took it. Your 
queen is the best card and should be led on the second 
round. 

When you have not the best of the suit to lead, 
but hold both second- and third-best, always lead one 
of them. 

This is a very important rule. Having led the king 
from K, Q, J, even if the king wins the first trick, 
you must lead the jack next. If your partner holds 
the ace he knows you have the queen when you lead 
the king, but he does not know you hold the jack. If 
your partner has not the ace, by leading the high 
card for the second round you prevent the dealer from 
winning the second trick too cheaply if he is holding 
up the ace. 

The same rule applies to leading from A, Q, J. 



THE CARD TO LEAD 



137 



After the ace, lead the queen, so as to be sure no card 
smaller than the king shall win the second round. 
Having led the queen from Q, J, 10, and forced out 
either ace or king, lead the ten next time, so as to be 
sure and force out the other higher card and make 
your jack good for the third round. Your partner 
knows you have the jack when you lead the queen, 
therefore follow with the ten, the card he does not 
know. 

If often happens that your cards become second- and 
third-best through the play. If you lead the ace from 
A, J, 10, and catch either king or queen, the jack and 
ten become second- and third-best, and one of them 
must be led to force out the other higher card. 

When you have not both second- and third-best in 
your hand, it is useless to lead a high card which is 
not the best of the suit. Having led the king from 
K, Q, if the king wins the trick, follow with a small 
card. This small card must be the original fourth- 
best. 

It sometimes happens, especially at no trumps, that 
the dealer will hold up the ace when you lead a king, 
if the jack is in the dummy. To prevent the pos- 
sibility of this jack making, you must lead your queen 
for the second round if the jack is unguarded, not 
otherwise. Illustrative Hand No. 31 shows this 
position. 



138 



COMPLETE BRIDGE 



Irregular and Intermediate Leads 

Some writers advocate the leading of intermediate 
cards when a long suit is opened which is not headed 
by an honour. Holding such cards as the following, 



♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ 

: : ♦ ♦ 

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ 














they propose avoiding the fourth-best, and beginning 
with such a card as the eight in each of these hands, 
so that the third hand may know that although it is 
the leader's longest suit, there is not a winning card in 
it. The lead is chiefly used against no-trumpers, but 
it is sometimes very confusing, especially if the third 
hand happens to have good cards in the suit, as he 
does not know that the suit is long unless the leader is 
one of those who never open a short suit at no trumps. 
Another proposal is to substitute the lead of the 
third-best for that of the fourth-best; but such a vari- 
ation does not seem to serve any useful purpose, al- 
though some situations can be shown in which it is 
apparently more informatory, just as positions may be 
picked out that will favour any eccentric method of 
play. The fourth-best and its accompanying Eleven 
Rule is too well established to be set aside now, unless 



THE CARD TO LEAD 



139 



much stronger arguments in favour of the third-best 
can be brought forward than any which have so far 
appeared. 

Against No-Trumpers- 

There is little or no variation in the rules for the 
card to lead against a no-trumper, all the leads from 
the regular high-card combinations being the same at 
trumps or no trumps. The distinction between leading 
high cards and leading low cards against a declared 
trump and against a no-trumper has already been 
pointed out. But at no trump: 

When a suit contains three honours, always lead 
one of them if two or more are in sequence, as the fol- 
lowing : 






♦ ♦ 












9 
9 




4. * 

4. 4. 


4. ^ 
4. 4- 




9 9 


9 

9 



140 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

The first three will be recognised as king leads, the 
fourth as an ace lead, and the fifth as a ten lead. The 
rules for following on the second round are the same 
as those already given for playing against trump 
declarations. With A, K, J, after leading the king 
and finding the queen is not in the dummy, many 
players shift to another suit, hoping to catch the queen 
if the partner can get in and lead through the dealer. 
This is a dangerous experiment unless it is clear that 
the dealer holds the queen, which may sometimes be; 
inferred by methods to be explained later, or unless 
the leader has a good suit to shift to. 

With any suit of seven or more, headed by the ace 
without the king, it is usually best to lead the ace if 
you have any card of re-entry in another suit, there 
being a fair chance of catching some high cards, per- 
haps the king, by the lead. Without any re-entry, 
the fourth-best should be led, even with as many as 
seven cards in the suit. Good players always lead the 
Q instead of the A from A, Q, J, when they have no 
re-entry in another suit, so as to get the king out of 
the way at once, and still leave the partner with a 
card to return. With a re-entry card in another suit, 
the ace should always be led first from A, Q, J. 

Illustrative Hand No. 12 is a good example of the 
advantage of leading in this manner. Seeing all the 
clubs against him, the dealer is obliged to make sure 
of every trick he can before letting either adversary 



Illustrative Hand No. 12 

Opening a long suit unaccompanied by re-entry 
cards. Z deals and calls no trump. A leads. 











<! 


^9842 














A 108 2 














♦ Q 7 6 








7 3 






♦ A 8 3 






^ 




Y 


^ KQ 6 5 


« 


A Q J 


6 


4 3 








A 9 5 


4 


9 8 2 








A B 




♦ J 10 4 3 


♦ 


7 2 








Z 




♦ Q J 6 




^ 


P A J lO 












A K7 














♦ A K 5 
















dk K10 9 5 


4 





TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


1 


4k Q 


♦ 2 


* 5 


« K 


3 


2 # 


A 4 


6 # 


4 « 


3 


7 ♦ 


8 4b 


J ♦ 


K * 


4 

5 
6 


2 ^ 

8 ^ 

9 -^ 


6 4 

7 ♦ 
Q ^ 


3 # 

4 ♦ 

io4 


A ♦ 
K ♦ 
5 ♦ 


7 

8 


^ 3 

- 7 


9 
2 


^ Q 

^ K 


♦ A 
» J 


9 


A 3 


3 4b 


J ♦ 


« 7 


10 


4k 4 


4 


Q ♦ 


5 « 


11 


♦ J 


* 8 


4k 9 


9 « 


13 


A A 


♦ lO 


^ 5 


lO ♦ 


13 


* 6 


8 


^ 6 


* lO 



The dealer wins the odd trick only 



142 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



into the lead. If A opens his hand with the ace, the 
dealer wins the game easily. 

From all suits which are not headed by three 
honours, or are not long enough to justify leading 
from two honours in sequence, the fourth-best should 
be led, counting from the top. 

It is not so disadvantageous to lead from a suit 
headed by two honours not in sequence at no trump 
as it is with a trump, provided the suit is long, say 
five or more cards. Length is a most important thing 
at no trumps if you have not a suit headed by three 
honours. When the suits are not only short, but are 
undesirable ones to open, on account of the honours 
not being in sequence, it is better to avoid them if 
possible. 

Some players make it a rule always to lead the ace if 
they have seven cards in the suit, no matter what the 
other honours are. This is in order that the partner 
may know the suit is one of seven cards, and may give 
up the king on the first round if he holds it with only 
one small card. Such refinements are hardly neces- 
sary, however, with an intelligent partner who under- 
stands the play of the third hand. 

If the student wishes to try his knowledge of the 
leads, he may write out opposite the numbers of the 
following test hands the card that he would select for 
the opening, if he were eldest hand. The key will 
be found at the end of the book. 



Test Hands for Leading 



143 



Hearts declared by the dealer. 

^ Q 5 3 No. 33. ^ K 7 No. 34. 

*AK4 AKJ73 

i K Q J 10 7 5 # A 6 4 

♦ 2 ♦ K Q 8 2 



«r 6 4 2 

* K 5 

4 Q J 108 7 

♦ A J 4 


No. 


35. 


7 3 

♦ A Q 7 5 2 

♦ A 8 6 4 

♦ 9 3 


No. 


36. 


% 5 2 
Jk K105 3 
i A Q 6 2 
♦ Q8 4 


No. 


37. 


V Q 9 5 2 

* 5 

^ K Q J 6 3 

♦ K 8 2 


No. 


38. 


^842 

* A J 6 3 2 
i 8 

♦ A K 9 7 


No. 


39. 


<r 5 3 2 

J(, K 7 5 3 2 

♦ A Q 8 4 

♦ 9 


No 


40. 



If dummy calls diamonds, what do you lead? 

5r K 7 5 3 No. 41. <> Q 3 2 No. 42. 

*Q642 *AJ86 

♦ K 5 ♦ J 9 

♦ A93 ♦KJ74 

If dummy calls spades, and your partner doubles? 

% K J 6 4 No. 43. #8642 No. 44. 

*953 ♦753 

4 A 7 4 2 i 9 

♦ K9 ♦KJ1054 

If the dealer calls no trumps, what do you lead ? 

V 6 4 No. 45. ^52 No. 46. 

♦ A K 3 2 * 8 

4 K Q 7 5 3 ♦ A K Q ^ 

♦ 95 » KQ 10 7532 

t^ A 8 5 3 2 No. 47. <f J 5 No. 48. 

♦ AQJ *864 
^95 403 

♦ 764 » A Q J 7 4 2 

If dummy calls no trumps, what do you lead ? 

♦ J 5 No. 49. # K 8 6 4 No. 50. 
♦AJ64 *K753 

%K10 42 ♦A92 

♦ Q 9 7 ♦ 8 2 



LEADING THROUGH DUMMY 

After the opening lead, when dummy's cards are 
laid down, it may be seen to be advisable to change the 
suit, whether it is a trump call or a no-trumper. 

Two of the most common reasons for the eldest 
hand's changing suits are: to avoid establishing the 
suit against himself and to prevent the weak hand 
from ruffing it. 

In the illustrative hands will be found many ex- 
amples of these reasons for changing suits after the 
first trick. In No. 4, for instance, if A goes on with 
the diamonds, he establishes the remainder of the suit 
against himself in the hands of the dealer and dummy. 

It is very often advisable to change suits in order to 
prevent dummy from trumping. Sometimes it is the 
dealer who is likely to trump. If the dealer is the 
declaring hand this may not matter so much, as the 
force may do him more harm than good; but if it 
is the dummy that has declared and the dealer's is 
the weak trump hand, forcing the dealer should be 
avoided. Sometimes, again, it is too late to force, the 
dealer's hand being made up, and the only chance to 
save the game is to try some other suit. 

The lead is frequently changed to take advantage of 

144 



LEADING THROUGH DUMMY 145 

the cards exposed in the dummy's hand. Instead of 
pursuing his own suit, the eldest hand will often see 
a good chance to lead through dummy's imperfectly 
guarded honours, or honours that are not in sequence. 

The general rule in such a case is to lead through 
dumm.y's strong suits, and to let your partner lead up 
to his weak ones. 

If dummy's suits are so strong that he would prob- 
ably lead them himself at the first opportunity, it is 
useless to help him along by leading them for him. 
When dummy holds three honours in sequence, for 
instance, it is useless to lead that suit unless you can 
trump the second round j^ourself. The best com- 
binations to lead through in the dum.my are: 







4. 4. 
4. 4. 

4. 4. 




^ 

^ 



1 


4. 4. 










M 


:♦: 

♦ ♦ 




♦ ♦ 



The size of the small cards is unimportant; it is the 
honours that must be looked at. It is bad policy to 
lead through a combination of two honours which are 
not in sequence when you hold the intermediate card 



146 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

yourself, unless you think you can frighten the dealer 
into giving up the higher card. Holding the K, it is 
useless to lead through A, Q ; holding the Q, it is not 
good play to lead through K, J, for in both cases you 
tempt the dummy to finesse against you, just as he 
would if the suit were led from the dealer's hand. 

Changing Suits 

The opening lead being made in the dark, with- 
out any idea of what dummy holds, any tactics which 
are based on the probable advantage of leading through 
dummy usually involve changing the suit. A suit may 
be changed for two reasons: either because it is unde- 
sirable to go on with the suit itself, or because dummy's 
cards suggest that another suit may be better than the 
one originally opened. 

But in changing suits there is one very important 
point to which no writer on bridge has called atten- 
tion, and that is the probable consequences of putting 
your partner in the lead. When the eldest hand 
changes suits to lead through dummy he never leads 
winning cards, because that would not be leading 
through. He leads cards smaller than those held by 
the dummy, so as to place the dummy's higher cards 
at a disadvantage. His expectation in doing this must 
be that his partner, the pone, can win the trick. This 
will put him in the lead for the next trick. 



Illustrative Hand No. 13 



Showing the tactics when A wants B to lead to 
Dummy's weak suits. Z deals and calls Hearts. A 
leads. 



¥ 8 3 






* K J 7 5 4 




■ 


18 3 2 




♦ J 9 4 






^ Q 6 4 


Y 




¥ to 9 7 


* Q8 3 






* A 9 6 2 


♦ A J 4 


A B 




t Q10 9 7 


♦ A K 8 6 


Z 




♦ 7 3 


f 


F A K J 5 


2 




J 


Ik lO 


» 


i 


► K6 5 




4 


Ik Q105 2 







TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


K ^ 


4 4|k 


7 # 


2 # 


3 


A 4|l 


9 # 


3 # 


5 # 


3 


6 # 


J ♦ 


V 7 


lO ^ 


4: 


A 7 


2 4 


lO f 


K f 


5 


8 # 


^&: 8 


V 9 


Q ♦ 


6 


4 ^ 


3 i 


Q ♦ 


5 


r 


J # 


8 ♦ 


9 # 


6 # 


8 


* 8 


4k J 


* A 


* lO 


9 


^ Q 


* 4 


'7 ♦ 


V J 


10 


A 3 


* 5 


* 6 


V 2 


11 


^ 4 


^ 3 


f^ lO 


1» A 


la 


# 6 


* 7 


* 2 


c K 


13 


* Q 


* K 


4k 9 


^ 5 



A-B win three by cards. 



148 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

Before asking your partner to win a trick in this 
position you should always ask yourself, do you want 
him to be in the lead ? If he gets in, he must lead up 
to dummy. Do you want him to lead to dummy? 

This part of the tactics of the game can be best 
explained by examples from actual play. If the reader 
will turn to Illustrative Hand No. 13 he will see a 
position in which A, the eldest hand, persists in his 
suit, forcing his partner to trump it, because the eldest 
hand himself has no good lead through dummy but 
wants his partner to lead up to dummy's weak suit, 
which, following the principle already laid down, the 
pone will always do. 

In Illustrative Hand No. 14, on the contrary, the 
eldest hand does not want his partner to lead up to 
dummy, because that would place him at a great dis- 
advantage. Therefore A changes from the suit origi- 
nally opened, refusing either to give up the command 
of it or to force his partner with it, but instead, taking 
advantage of the opportunity to lead through dummy's 
strong suit, the spades, the A, J and others being one 
of the combinations already given as desirable ones to 
lead through. 

In this hand, if A forces his partner by leading 
another diamond for the third trick, B will indicate 
clubs as his strongest suit, and if A leads a club, the 
dealer will win three by cards very easily. Even if 
A leads a small diamond for the third trick, forcing 



Illustrative Hand No. 1 4 

Showing the tactics when A does not want B to 
lead to Dummy. Z deals and calls Hearts. A leads. 



^ K 2 

♦ Q 9 3 

♦ A K Q 7 

♦ K 8 6 4 




V 9 7 5 

♦ J 8 6 4 2 

♦ 9 4 

♦ Q107 



TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


K 


2 ♦ 


9 ♦ 


3 4 


3 


Q . 


6 i 


4 ^ 


5 4 


3 


4 ^ 


A 4|b 


7 # 


2 # 


4: 


? K 


¥ J 


¥ 5 


¥4 


5 


K ^ 


3 4|b 


lO ^ 


9 # 


6 


6 # 


5 # 


Q ♦ 


6 


7 


«* 2 


^ 3 


¥ 7 


A 


8 


7 -^ 


V 8 


V 9 


V Q 


9 


A 


8 4 


« 2 


J <^ 


10 


8 # 


J ♦ 


* 4 


lO V 


11 


♦ 3 


* 7 


♦ 6 


A A 


13 


A 9 


A K 


4k 8 


4 5 


13 


* Q 


* lO 


« J 


#io 





The dealer wins two by cards only. 



150 



COMPLETE BRIDGE 



his partner and holding the command, the dealer still 
wins two by cards. 

Illustrative Hand No. 15 is an example of another 
object in changing suits. A sees the danger of the 
spade suit, which can be established immediately if Z 
has a spade to lead, and to kill dummy's re-entry, he 
leads a heart through. B divines his partner's object, 
and immediately wins the trick and forces out the ace 
of hearts. If A persists in the club suit, the dealer 
wins four by cards easily. 

Before leading through dummy, always stop to ask 
yourself the probable consequences of your partner's 
leading up to dummy. 



Illustrative Hand No. 15 

Showing importance of taking out Dummy's re- 
entries. Z deals and calls no trump. A leads. 



^ J 4 3 
A KQ108 
♦' K10 7 4 
♦ KQ 



^ AS 
A 5 

♦ 983 

♦ A J 108 6 4 2 




K107 5 2 
9 7 3 
6 5 
9 5 3 



TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


1 


♦ K 


* 5 


A 7 


* 2 


3 


J 


^8 


^ K 


^ 6 


3 


4 


^ A 


^ 2 


^ 9 


4: 


Q ♦ 


A 4 


3 # 


7 # 


5 


K ^ 


J ♦ 


5 4|k 


♦ 4 


6 


3 


2 4^ 


^ 5 


" Q 


7 


lO * 


3 ^ 


5 


2 


8 


« 8 


4 # 


* 9 


♦ J 


9 


4k lO 


6 4|k 


4k 3 


4k A 


10 


41 Q 


8 ^ 


6 ^ 


4k 6 


11 


4 


8 ♦ 


9 # 


J 


13 


7 t 


9 ♦ 


^ 7 


A "> 


13 


K ^ 


lO ^ 


V lO 


Q 1^ 



The dealer wins the odd trick only. 



THIRD-HAND PLAY 

With a Trump 

We now come to consider the duties of the player 
who sits on the dealer's right hand, the pone, who is 
always the third hand on the first trick. 

If you have carefully studied the system of leading 
adopted by the eldest hand, you must have been im- 
pressed by the fact that he selected certain cards to 
lead from certain combinations of cards in order to 
secure his partner's co-operation by giving him as much 
information as possible. 

If you are that partner, it is for you that this in- 
formation is intended. If you have thoroughly mas- 
tered the principles of leading you should be able to 
read your partner's suit from his leads. Your partner 
tries to say something with his cards; tries to convey 
valuable information to you. If you understand the 
language you can ^' read his hand." If you do not 
understand it, you are playing the guess game, which 
never won anything at bridge. A player who can 
" read cards " is one who knows, when a certain card 
IS played, what combination the player of that card 
probably holds. 

In inferring what your partner holds, you will be 

152 



THIRD-HAND PLAY 



153 



greatly helped by an examination of dummy's cards, 
which are always laid down before you play. The 
cards not in your own hand and not in the dummy's 
must be with your partner or with the dealer, and you 
should try to infer which it is. 

When your partner leads high cards, and you make 
no attem.pt to win the trick, occupy your mind by try- 
ing to infer what other high cards he holds. If he 
leads a K, he must have either A or Q, perhaps both. 
If you hold the A, or it is in the dummy, you know 
that he must have the Q; if you have the Q, you 
know that he must hold the A. 

If the card led wins the trick and he leads again, 
ask yourself what he has left. Suppose he follows 
a winning K with the J, what has he? If he follows 
with the Q? If he follows with the A? If he be- 
gins with the A, where is the K if you do not hold 
it and it is not in the dummy? If he begins with a 
Q, where are the A and K? If he leads a 10, where 
are the A and Q? 

If you are familiar with the principles of selecting 
the best suit to open from a given hand, you can 
make a number of useful inferences. Suppose your 
partner leads A, then Q, at no trump, what other card 
do you infer in his hand? Naturally, a re-entry in 
another suit. Ask yourself what that suit probably is. 
If he begins with the Q and turns out to hold the 
A also, you infer that he holds no re-entry. 



154 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

Showing What You Hold 

So much for your inferences, as to what your partner 
holds. Now for the other part of the game, showing 
him what you hold. 

There are two things which the leader wants you 
to do: show him what tricks you can win, and, get 
out of his way. Let us first consider your play when 
your partner leads small cards. What is his ob- 
ject? It must be to give you a chance to win some 
tricks in the suit if you can. But in winning these 
tricks, or in attempting to do so, show him as 
clearly as possible what high cards you hold in his 
suit. 

Never deceive j^our partner under the impression 
that you are deceiving the dealer. That is a losing 
game, because the dealer is not deceived. He knows 
just what is against him, and if you lead him to believe 
that it is not in your hand, he knows that your part- 
ner must have it, as it is not in his own hand nor in 
the dummy. 

The first great rule for the third hand is, never 
to finesse. A finesse is any attempt to win a trick 
with a card which is not the best that you hold. Sup- 
pose you hold A, Q and others and that your partner 
opens with a small card of that suit. The A will 
win the trick, because it is the best card of that suit, 
while to play the Q would be an attempt to win the 



THIRD-HAND PLAY 155 



trick with a card which is not the best, nor in se- 
quence with it. It would be a finesse. 

The third hand should never finesse on his part- 
ner's lead, but play the ace always, so as to make sure 
of the trick. If the dealer has the king, you may catch 
it. If it is guarded, it cannot be caught. If your 
partner holds the king, your play does not matter, so 
put on the ace. 

If the K is in the dummy, your Q is obviously as 
good as your A, and there is no question of finesse, be- 
cause the Q is a certainty. Suppose your only high 
card is the Q and the dealer wins it with the K. You 
have shown your partner that you cannot hold the A, 
or you would have played it. 

The second rule for the third hand is, always win 
tricks as cheaply as you can. 

Holding two or more high cards in sequence, such 
as A, K, Q; K, Q; Q, J, play the lowest of the se- 
quence. If you hold K, Q and play the K third 
hand, you deceive your partner, who will credit the 
dealer with the Q, which may frighten him off the 
suit altogether. 

Holding two cards which are not in sequence, such 
as K, J, or Q, 10, or J, 9, always play the higher 
card third hand unless the intermediate card is in the 
dummy. It should be obvious without further ex- 
planation that if the dummy has the Q, J and you 
hold K, 10, your 10 is just as good as the K if dummy 



156 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

does not cover the card led with either J or Q. If 
you have the Q, 10 and dummy has the J, your 10 is 
as good as your Q. 

The Down-and-Out Echo 

When your partner leads cards higher than any you 
hold, or when dummy plays in second hand a card 
which shut you out, you cannot make any attempt 
to win the trick, but you may still try to show your 
partner what you hold in the suit. For this purpose 
different systems are adopted, depending on whether 
the hand is played with or without a trump. 

What follows refers to the third hand's play against 
a declared trump. His play against no-trumpers will 
come in the next chapter. 

When the third hand cannot win a trick, and makes 
no attempt to do so, his most obvious course is to play 
the smallest card he has in the suit. But when he 
has two or three of these small or useless cards, he 
may employ them to show his partner whether or not 
he can trump the third round. This is accomplished 
by what is known as the " down-and-out echo." 

An echo is information sent back to the partner in 
response to the information given by his leads. It 
consists in playing a higher card before a lower one 
when it is not otherwise necessary to do so, when no 
attempt is made to win the trick. This echo is never 



THIRD-HAND PLAY 



157 



used except with a declared trump, because its only- 
object is to show your partner whether or not you 
can ruff the third round of his suit. 

When the third hand holds only two cards of his 
partner's suit, neither of them higher than the ten, 
he plays the higher card to the first round. When 
the lower card falls to the second round, the eldest 
hand knows that the third hand has no more. 

When one of the cards is the jack or better, the 
lower card is always played to the first trick, because 
the echo is then unnecessary, as we shall see in a 
moment, and the high card might be wasted. 

Suppose that you are third hand and the lead is 
a K, you holding the 9 and 4 only. You play the 
9 to the first round. Whether your partner wins this 
trick or not, he must win the second round with the 
A or the Q, whichever he holds, and you will then 
complete your echo. Seeing dummy's cards and 
counting them, he can tell exactly how many of the 
suit the dealer holds, and knows whether or not you 
will be overtrumped if he leads the suit the third time. 
He may prefer not to force you, perhaps having a 
better line of play. He may go on with a winning 
card of the suit in order to give you a discard and 
find out the suit you want led, as A does in Illustra- 
tive Hand No. 16, or he may lead through dummy's 
strong suit, instead of forcing you into the lead, as A 
does in Illustrative Hand No. 14. If he forces you, 



158 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

he IS probably willing that you should lead up to 
dummy's weak suit. If he does not force you, he 
probably has a better play in going through dummy's 
strong suit. You simply give him the information as 
to the position; it is his place to use it to the best 
advantage. 

Never play the down-and-out echo if your higher 
card is as good as the J. Suppose you hold J and 4 
only, when your partner leads K and then A. You 
play the 4 the first time, and on the second round the 
J falls. Your partner knows, without any echo, that 
if you have not the Q you can trump, so that in either 
case you can win the next round. 

When you have three or more of the suit, always 
play the lowest. Suppose you have 9, 8; 4, and your 
partner leads K, A. By playing up, 4 and then 8, in- 
stead of down, 8 and then 4, he will know that you 
still hold a card of the suit higher than the 8. When 
you play the smallest you can hold to the first round, 
the deuce, for instance, the leader may see at once 
that if you have not a high card, such as the J or Q, 
you must have at least three of the suit or no more, 
because you cannot be echoing when you play your 
lowest card first. 

In Illustrative Hand No. 16 will be found a very 
good example of how the leads of the eldest hand" and 
the echo of the third hand fit into each other. A 
leads K and then J, showing four honours in clubs. 



Illustrative Hand No. 16 

The down-and-out echo, showing that the dealer 
cannot ruff. Z deals. Y calls Hearts. A leads. 



V 107 

♦ A KQ J 2 

♦ 7 

^ K 8 7 4 3 




^ Q9 

♦ 73 

' K106 4 2 

♦ J 106 5 



TEICK 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


1 


♦ K 


♦ 4 


A 7 


♦ lO 


3 


♦ Q 


♦ 5 


♦ 3 


♦ 9 


3 


♦ J 


♦ 6 


2 ^ 


♦ 8 


4: 


7 ^ 


A ♦ 


4 ♦ 


5 4 


5 


7 


K 


^P 9 


^ 3 


6 


lO 


^ A 


^' Q 


^ 5 


7 


3 ♦ 


9 4 


K 4 


8 4 


8 
9 


4 ♦ 

7 ^ 


2 ♦ 

3 * 


J ♦ 

6 ^ 


A « 

Q 1 


10 


& ♦ 


Q ♦ 


lO ♦ 


J ^ 


11 


K ♦ 


^ 2 


5 ♦ 


9 ♦ 


13 


A 2 


^^^ J 


6 # 


6 


13 


♦ A 


^ 4 


lO # 


^ 8 



The dealer wins three by cards only. 



i6o COMPLETE BRIDGE 



Missing the trey, he may credit his partner with it 
on the first round. The completion of the echo shows 
A that the dealer, the weak trump hand in this case, 
cannot ruff the third round, as he still has another of 
the suit. In this hand, A goes on with the suit in 
order to get a directive discard from B. When A 
changes to diamonds, if dummy does not play the ace 
second hand, so as to lead trumps at once, A-B will 
probably get the odd trick by establishing a cross ruff. 

In Illustrative Hand No. 17 the absence of the 
echo shows A, on the second round, that B must still 
have another of the suit, therefore the dealer is out and 
will trump if A goes on a third time. This warning 
comes just in time to enable A to save two of his 
trumps by shifting suits and going through dummy's 
strength in diamonds. If A leads a third round of 
spades, the dealer wins two by cards easily. 

In leading through dummy's strong suit, it is hardly 
necessary to say that the trump suit is not usually con- 
sidered unless all other suits are worse leads. 



Illustrative Hand No. 17 

The down-and-out echo, showing that the dealer is 
short. Z deals. Y calls Hearts. A leads. 



fP K 5 4 

* J 4 3 

♦ 10 2 

# A K Q 7 6 




V 9 8 

* A 7 6 2 
i A K 8 3 

♦ J 5 2 



TJIICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


K ^ 


4 # 


2 


♦ 


3 4 


4 


Q ♦ 


9 41^ 


5 


♦ 


8 4^ 


3 


lO 4 


4 4 


K 


♦ 


7 4 


4 


2 4 


5 4 


A 


_t 


J 4 


5 


V 4 


6 4 


3 


♦ 


9 4 


6 


* 3 


* Q 


A A 




Jk 5 


7 


m K 


Q 4 


8 


♦ 


V lO 


8 


A ^ 


lO # 


J 


4k 


V 3 


9 


9 5 


V J 


^ 8 




W 2 


10 


4k 4 


V A 


V 9 




♦ 8 


11 


* J 


1^ Q 


^ 2 




A 9 


13 


6 # 


V 7 


* 6 




4k lO 


13 


7 4|k 


V 6 


* 7 




* K 



A-B win the odd trick. 



THIRD-HAND PLAY 

At No Trumps 

In playing against no-trumpers, the third hand fol- 
lows out the same principles as those already given in 
all such matters as inferring what his partner holds, 
winning tricks as cheaply as possible, and refusing to 
finesse, except on special occasions, which will be ex- 
plained presently. 

The chief difference in the play of the third hand 
at no trump is in the method of showing what he holds 
in his partner's suits. 

The Plain-Suit Echo 

When there is no ruffing to be done, the down-and- 
out echo is useless, and the plain-suit echo takes its 
place. It is not only useful in showing the number of 
cards held, but also the rank of some of them. By its 
aid, the leader can tell just how his suit is distributed. 
He can count his own cards and the dummy's, and if 
the third hand adds accurate information as to how 
many it holds, the leader can infer how many the 
dealer has. 

The plain-suit echo is used only when the third hand 

162 



Illustrative Hand No. 18 

Third hand showing number by the plain-suit echo. 
Z deals and calls no trump. A leads. 





V J 10 7 4 

t 








* 




% 


f Q J 104 




# A 8 7 5 


3 




V Q 8 6 


Y 




^532 


♦ A KQ 5 3 2 






A J 104. 


♦ K 5 


A B 




♦ 9 7 6 3 2 


♦ 62 


Z 




♦ 109 




r A K9 






< 


> 9 8 7 6 






♦ A 8 




< 


ik KQ J 4 







TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


* K 


4 


Jk lO 


* 6 


a 


♦ 5 


to ♦ 


* J 


♦ 7 


3 


* Q 


4 


A 4 


« 8 


4: 


A A 


7 


2 


A 9 


5 


* 3 


lO 


2 


^ 9 


6 


♦ 2 


J ♦ 


^ 3 


8 4 


7 


K ^ 


Q ♦ 


3 4 


A <«' 


8 


2 # 


3 ♦ 


9 ♦ 


K # 


9 


6 41^ 


5 # 


lO 4k 


Q ♦ 


10 


5 


7 # 


V 5 


J ♦ 


11 


6 


A 4b 


6 4 


4 # 


la 


^ 8 


8 # 


7 


^ K 


13 


^Q 


J 


9 ♦ 


V A 



The dealer wins the odd trick only. 



i64 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



makes no attempt to win the trick. The rule for it is 
this: 

Always play the second-best you hold, regardless of 
number or value. 

Suppose that this is the position : 

K led. Dummy's, A 9 7 5 Yours, lO 8 2 

If you play the 8, your partner knows you have one 
card higher than the 8, or no more of the suit. If he 
is leading from K, Q, J, as he should at no trump, 
he knows from dummy's cards that your higher card 
is the lO, and the information given him by your echo 
enables him to lead a small card for the second round, 
letting your lo make, shutting out dummy's 9, which 
would otherwise become good for a trick if the leader 
went on with one of his honours. 

Take this position: 

K led. Dummy's, 6 3 Yours, J lO 5 4 

The 10 is the proper play for the third hand on the 
first round. In this case: 

Q led. Dummy's, A K 4 Yours, 8 2 

The deuce is the right card for the first round of 
the suit. Being the lowest card possible, the leader 
knows that you can have but one more of his suit, 
if any. 

Illustrative Hand No. 18 will show the reader how 



Illustrative Hand No. 19 

Third hand showing suit he wants led through 
Dummy. Z deals. Y calls no trump. A leads. 







V 


Q 7 6 4 








* A KQ 








♦ A K 3 








♦ 


Q103 




^853 




Y 


^ A K J 102 


♦ 954 






A B 


A 6 2 


^ J 9 






' 10 6 2 


♦ A J 8 


7 4 




Z 


♦ K 9 2 




-.;- 


9 








« J 108 7 3 








♦ Q 8 7 5 4 








♦ 


6 5 





TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


1 


7 # 


lO ^ 


K ^ 


5 4|k 


2 


^ 3 


^ 4 


^ K 


^ 9 


3 


A # 


3 4 


9 ^ 


6 ^ 


4: 

5 
6 


8 
5 
4 # 


^ 6 

^ Q 


"^ 2 
^ lO 
^ A 


4 3 
« 7 
A 8 


T 


8 # 


3 4 


«. J 


A lO 


8 


J ♦ 


Q ♦ 


2 4 


A J 


9 


9 ^ 


A ^ 


2 


4 


10 


J ^ 


K^ 


6 


5 


11 


A 4 


* A 


« 2 


7 


13 


4k 5 


* K 


♦ 6 


8 


13 


♦ 9 


*Q 


lO * 


Q 



A-B win the odd trick. 



i66 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



the plain-suit echo is used. If the lO, which B plays 
to the first trick, is B's second-best, he must have the 
J, and if he has only one smaller card, the 9 in the 
dealer^s hand will be good for a trick if A continues 
leading his own high cards. If B has not the J, it 
does not matter what A does. If the hand is played 
over, letting A go on with the high cards, it will be 
found that the dealer easily wins four by cards, be- 
cause A will be forced to discard later on and must 
unguard one of the red suits. 

When the third hand wins the first round of the 
suit, information as to number is given in a different 
way, as we shall see presently. The third hand may 
not think it worth while to give any such information, 
as he may see it to his advantage to give more im- 
portant hints as to his own hand. 

An example of such a case is given in Illustrative 
Hand No. 19. B wins the first trick. A glance at 
dummy's cards and his own is sufficient to show him 
that A cannot hold any card of re-entry for his spades 
after they are cleared, so B shows, by leading the king 
of hearts, that he wants a lead through dummy's 
queen, and then returns the spade, simply to put A 
in the lead. It will be observed that if B does not 
lead hearts himself, he will have to win his partner's 8 
with the 10 to shut out the 9, losing two by cards. 

There are some cases in which an alert player will 
see the advantage of refusing to attempt to win the 



Illustrative Hand No. 20 

Showing how the third hand can read his partner's 
cards. Z deals and calls no trumps. A leads. 



V A 8 5 4 

4 8 4. 

♦ KQ 9 7 5 

^95 




TEICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


7 


8 


6 


A 


» 


5 # 


3 ♦ 


6 A 


A # 


3 


9 # 


4 4|k 


K 4|b 


Q ♦ 


4: 


5 4 


2 


J 


A 2 


5 


Q 


4 


3 


2 # 


6 


K 


lO 


A 5 


7 ♦ 


7 


9 


* 7 


2 


8 # 


8 


A 8 


4k 9 


A A 


4k 3 


9 


V A 


V 3 


V 7 


Q 


10 


* 4 


A lO 


* J 


♦ K 


11 


4 


^ 6 


4k 6 


J ♦ 


13 


5 


W J 


V 9 


lO ^ 


13 


8 


A Q 


lO 


^ K 



A-B win the odd trick. 



i68 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



first round of his partner's suit. Illustrative Hand 
No. 20 is an example. B knows that if his partner 
held A, K, Q, he would have led one of those cards 
and not a small one. He therefore infers that the 
dealer must hold A, or K, or Q, and in order to hold 
over dummy's well-guarded 10, B does not play his J 
on the first round. The student should observe that 
if the dealer tries to put Y in with a club, so as to get 
the finesse in spades, B will win the club and return 
the jack of diamonds, with the same result as that 
shown, because Y can never get into the lead if B 
plays well. 



THE ELEVEN RULE 

We have seen that the leader tries to give informa- 
tion as to the high cards he holds by leading one of 
those cards. But when he has no high-card combina- 
tion to lead from, or when he does not follow a high 
card with another high card, he always leads his 
fourth-best, counting from the top of the suit. Any 
card below the lo may be the fourth-best of a strong 
suit, or it may be the top of a weak suit. With a little 
practice, one can always tell which it is. For the 
beginner, it is safest to assume that all small-card leads 
are fourth-bests, unless his own cards or the dummy's 
show that they are not. 

By your partner's leading high cards in a certain 
way, you are informed what high cards are not in 
his hand. His lead of a king and then an ace, for in- 
stance, denies the queen. By his leading small cards 
in a certain way, you are informed as to how many 
cards, higher than the one led, are not in his hand. 

Th'is IS accomplished by the fourth-best lead. This 
was not the original purpose of the fourth-best lead, 
which was adopted by whist players simply to show the 
number of cards in the suit that the leader held. 

169 



I70 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



The invention of the Eleven Rule made it possible to 
tell the number of high cards the leader did not 
hold; that is, how many the others held against him. 

The author originated the Eleven Rule in 1881, in 
connection with whist, but it has proved much more 
useful in bridge than in whist, because of the supple- 
mentary information given by the exposed hand, and 
it is now universally adopted and applied by all good 
players. The rule itself is this: 

When your partner leads any card below a ten, 
deduct the spots on it from eleven; the remainder 
is the number of cards, higher than the one led, which 
are not in the leader^s hand. 

If you are third hand, it should be easy to deduct 
the number of cards higher than the one led, in your 
own hand and in dummy's. This second remainder, 
if any, is the number of cards in the dealer's hand 
which are higher than the one led. 

Keep this distinction before you: higher than the 
card led. What the cards are does not matter at 
present. It is obviously of no importance to you what 
your partner's cards are if you are sure that neither 
of his opponents has any higher ones. 

While this rule is apparently simple, it is not easy 
to apply it in the hurry of an actual game without 
some preliminary practice. 

If you will take from any ordinary pack of cards 
a suit of thirteen and sort out the following examples, 



THE ELEVEN RULE 



171 



one at a time, you will be amply repaid for the 
trouble by the facility you will acquire in the applica- 
tion of this important rule. 

Remember that your partner leads; that dummy's 
cards are laid down before you play, and that you are 
the third hand. These positions should be carefully 
studied, because nothing is more important in bridge 
than a complete mastery of the Eleven Rule. 

Let us begin with this position: 

7 led. Dummy's, Q 5 2 Yours, A J 9 3 

According to the first part of the rule, you deduct 
the card led from eleven, and find the remainder to be 
four. Count the cards higher than the 7, which is 
led, in your own hand and the dummy's, according to 
the second part of the rule, and you will find four of 
them; dummy's Q; your A, J, 9; therefore, there is 
no second remainder, consequently the dealer cannot 
have any card higher than the 7, which is led. 

If you cannot see this, take the remainder of the 
cards in the suit, which are not shown in the ex- 
ample, and give your partner, the leader, any three of 
thern you please. You will find that if the 7 is his 
fourth-best the dealer cannot have anything higher. 
If the dealer has a higher card, then the 7 cannot be 
the leader's fourth-best. 

When the fourth-best is led, this rule is absolutely 
infallible. You can trust it implicitly if you can de- 



172 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

pend on your partner to lead regularly. Take an- 
other example: 

7 led. Dummy's, Q lO 5 Yours, A 8 6 

Deducting the card led from eleven leaves four, all 
of which are in sight, therefore the dealer has nothing 
better than the 7. With a moment's attention you can 
count up what your partner's cards must be. In 
actual play this is sometimes necessary. 

As you grow more expert and more at home with 
the uses of the Eleven Rule you will be able to combine 
the information you derive from it with your knowl- 
edge of the leads. Suppose there is a declared trump: 

6 led. Dummy's, Q 8 3 Yours, K 9 2 

There are five cards, higher than the 6 led, out 
against the leader; but only four of them are in sight, 
therefore the dealer must have one. Now, if you 
think a moment, you know that if your partner opens 
a suit of which he has the ace he will always lead the 
ace in playing against a trump call, therefore he can- 
not have that card and the dealer must have it. If 
the dealer has only one card higher than the 6, that 
one card must be the ace. In this case the Eleven 
Rule tells you that it is not necessary to play your 
king third hand unless dummy puts on the queen. 
Lay out the rest of the suit and verify this for 
yourself. 



Illustrative Hand No. 21 



Showing how the Eleven Rule enables third hand to 
finesse against Dummy. Z deals. Y calls no trump. 
A leads. 





% 


^ A Q 4 






♦ K 9 5 






♦ A 9 8 






♦ Q J 108 




^ K9 6 5 




Y 


' 107 3 2 


4 QI08 6 2 






* A J 4 3 


♦ 42 




A B 


KQ105 


# K 5 




Z 


♦ 7 




n 


' J 8 






A 7 






♦ J 7 6 3 






i 


fc A 9 6 4 


3 2 



TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


* 6 


♦ 9 


* J 


« 7 


2 


5 # 


10 ^ 


7 ^ 


A ♦ 


3 


^ K 


A 


2 


^ J 


4: 


K ^ 


Q ♦ 


5 ^ 


2 4k 


5 


* 8 


♦ 5 


4k 3 


3 


6 


* 2 


« K 


* A 


6 


7 


* 10 


4 


A 4 


7 ^ 


8 


* Q 


8 ^ 


^ 3 


J ^ 


9 


4 ^ 


A ^ 


10^ 


^ 8 


10 


2 


J # 


^ 7 


3 # 


11 


^ 5 


8 4k 


^ 10 


9 4k 


13 


^ 6 


9 ^ 


Q^ 


6 4k 


13 


^ 9 


'^ Q 


K ^^ 


4 4k 



The dealer wins the odd trick only. 



174 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



Another great use of the Eleven Rule is in telling 
you when your partner's suit is established, or how 
much establishing it needs. Suppose there is a de- 
clared trump: 

6 led. Dummy's, K 3 Yours, 9 4 2 

The dealer wins the first trick with the lO. Of 
the five cards higher than the 6, which your partner 
tells you he does not hold, the dealer must still have 
two, as the dummy has only one. Therefore your 
partner's suit is hopelessly against him, because he 
cannot have the ace, or he would have led it, nor both 
Q and J, or he would have led the Q, so the dealer 
must hold A, Q, or A, J, at least. 

Sometimes the Eleven Rule will enable you to hold 
the command over the dummy when he has a card 
that would otherwise stop your partner's suit at no 
trump. 

7 led. Dummy's, J 8 6 3 Yours, K lO 4 

Deducting seven from eleven and finding all four 
of the higher cards between your own hand and 
dummy's, you can play the 4 if dummy plays the trey; 
or the 10 if he covers with the 8, but never the king 
unless he puts in the J. In this case the Eleven Rule 
enables you and your partner to catch all four of 
dummy's cards, which would otherwise be impossible. 

Do not be disappointed if you find that in many 



Illustrative Hand No. 22 

Showing how the Eleven Rule enables third hand 

to detect a weak suit. Z deals and calls no trump. 

A leads. 

- 9 4 

♦ 10 5 4 

♦ 9 8 4 

♦ A 8 7 4 3 



* K J 8 3 




Y 


%r Q 7 6 5 2 


* 7 6 

♦ A J 6 5 




A B 


* J 9 8 2 
Q 7 3 


♦ Q9 2 




Z 


♦ K 




V 


AlO 






* A KQ3 






f K102 






# 


J 106 5 





TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


* 7 


* 4 


4k 2 


♦ A 


2 


2 # 


3 ♦ 


K 4|b 


J ♦ 


3 


» 3 


4 


5 


A 


4 


Q ♦ 


A ^ 


3 


lO 4k 


5 


9 ^ 


4 4|b 


4k 8 


5 # 


6 


K 


V 9 


2 


to 


7 


J 


4 ^ 


6 


2 


8 


8 


8 


Q 


6 4k 


9 


A 6 


* 5 


7 


4k 3 


10 


A # 


9 


Q 


K V 


11 


J 


7. # 


'7 ■■; 


10 4 


13 


6 ♦ 


8 ^ 


* 9 


4k Q 


13 


5 4 


* lO 


4k J 


4k K 



A-B win four by cards. 



176 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



cases the application of this rule is of no particular 
use, so far as winning tricks is concerned. Get into 
the habit of using the rule, and every now and then 
you will pick up a few tricks that would otherwise 
have escaped you, and you will save a good many 
games and rubbers in the course of a year. 

For examples of how this Eleven Rule works out 
in play, the reader is referred to Illustrative Hand 
No. 21. 

By the Eleven Rule B knows that the dealer has 
only one card higher than the 6, which is led. Just 
how much higher it is, he does not know, but as he 
cannot catch the dummy's king if he plays the ace, 
he finesses the jack, hoping that the dealer's high card 
is not the Q. B's object, after winning this trick, 
is to get his partner into the lead again, so that he 
may come through dummy's club king a second time. 
It is easy to see that A's only chance of immediate 
re-entry is the spade suit, so B leads it. Z plays the 
ace second hand so as to get the finesse in hearts, and 
Y unblocks the spade suit, so as to be out of the 
dealer's way. 

In Illustrative Hand No. 22, A's suits being bad 
ones to open, he leads a short suit. As the 10 is in 
the dummy, B's 9 is as good as his J. The dealer 
falsecards the ace, hoping to make A think B holds K 
and Q, because Z wants A to lead that suit again. 
When B gets in again, he avails himself of the in- 



THE ELEVEN RULE 



177 



formation imparted by the Eleven Rule, which tells 
him that A's club was the top of a weak suit, and 
not a fourth-best, and refuses to return the club, 
leading up to dummy's weakness in hearts instead. 
B knows that if his partner opens with a weak suit, 
he must have possible tricks in all the other suits, so 
he discards diamonds in order to protect the clubs, 
his partner's weak suit. 



UNBLOCKING 

When the declaration is a trump suit, there is no 
such thing as unblocking, because the small cards in 
plain suits are of no practical use to any one but the 
dealer, who has the trump strength to establish them. 
But at no trump, it is of the utmost importance that 
the third hand should get out of his partner's way, 
because the eldest hand usually starts with a long suit, 
and his only chance to make the small cards of it is 
in getting the higher cards out of the way. The 
dealer will obstruct the suit as long as he can, but 
the partner must do all in his power to clear it. 

We have seen that at no trump it is the rule for 
the third hand always to play his second-best on the 
first round, when he makes no attempt to win the 
trick. No matter how high his cards are this rule 
must be followed. When you are third hand and 
you have high cards in your partner's suit, the object 
is not only to enable the leader to count your hand, 
but to get out of his way to unblock his long suit. At 
no trump this is of the greatest importance. 

Let us take a few examples: 

7 led. Dummy's, A K 2 Yours, Q J 3 

178 



Illustrative Hand No. 23 

Unblocking by giving up high cards third hand. 
Z deals. Y calls no trump. A leads. 



IF 10 9 3 

A J 108 7 3 2 

♦ 2 

♦ 854 




¥8652 

♦ KQ4 
^ A Q 

# 109 7 3 



TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


* 7 


* A 


♦ Q 


A 5 


a 


% 3 


A 


^ 2 


^ 4 


3 

4: 


1? 9 
4 ♦ 


K 
2 # 


1? 5 
3 # 


%r 7 
J ♦ 


5 


V lO 


3 4 


^ 6 


- Q 


6 


5 ^ 


5 '^ 


c 8 


V J 


7 


2 


10 4 


Q 


4 4 


8 


4k 2 


6 # 


41 K 


* 6 


9 


8 4 


J ♦ 


A ^ 


6 < 


10 


41 lO 


Q ♦ 


A 4 


A 9 


11 


* J 


K ^ 


7 A 


7 


13 


A 8 


K i 


9 A 


8 ^ 


13 


* 3 


A 4|b 


lO ♦ 


9 ^ 



A-B win the odd trick. 



i8o COMPLETE BRIDGE 



Even if dummy plays the A or K second hand, you 
must still play the J third hand, because it is your 
second-best card. Your partner will know you have 
one higher card, the Q, or no more. 

5 led. Dummy's, A 7 Yours, K Q 4 

Whether dummy plays ace second hand or not, you 
must play the Q third hand. 

4 led. Dummy's, K 5 Yours, Q J lo 6 

If dummy plays the K second hand, shutting you 
out, you echo by playing your second-best card, the J. 
But if dummy does not play the K, your play is the 
lo; because in that case you are not echoing, but trying 
to win the trick as cheaply as possible. 

If the reader will turn to Illustrated Hand No. 23, 
he will see that B gives up his second-best card, the 
Q, on the first trick. If he does not do this, it will 
be easy to see that the dealer must win the game. 
With regard to the dealer's play in this hand, it should 
be observed that he cannot possibly drop all the high 
spades in three leads, no matter how they are divided. 
If he makes the jack of spades, puts dummy in with 
a heart and makes the rest of the spades, he must lead 
away from the diamonds and lose them. 

Sometimes the original leader will find his partner 
longer in the suit than he is himself, in which case he 
must be ready to get out of his partner's way. lUus- 



Illustrative Hand No. 24 

Getting out of your partner's way by the play 
Z deals. Y calls no trump. A leads. 



- K6 5 
A K109 6 
^ A 6 3 
♦ Q J 8 




V 10 7 5 4. 
# K 9 4 3 2 



^8732 

♦ A J 5 4 3 2 
9 8 2 

♦ 



TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


4 6 


4k 7 


4k J 


2 4 


3 


4 9 


♦ Q 


4k 2 


3 4k 


3 
4 


8 ^ 
5 


5 # 
Q 


^2 

^ 3 


K 4k 

4 


5 
6 


A 
♦ K 


K 

* 8 


2 
♦ 3 


4 ^ 

5 ^ 


7 


♦ lO 


6 4k 


4k A 


4 4k 


8 


6 


7 ♦ 


4k 5 


7 i^^ 


9 


3 


lO 4k 


* 4 


lO 


10 


J ♦ 


J t 


9 ^ 


9 4k 


11 


Q ♦ 


Q ^ 


8 ^ 


^ 9 


13 


; 6 


A 4k 


7 


^ lO 


13 


^ K 


^ A 


8 


V J 



The dealer wins the odd trick only. 



i82 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

trative Hand No. 24 is an example of this. B finesses 
by the Eleven Rule, and returns a small club. On 
this return, if A plays the K and leads through the Q, 
in order to catch it, he succeeds, but he blocks his 
partner's long club suit. No matter what dummy 
leads, A is sure of regaining the lead. 

The dealer usually sees at once what must be done 
to unblock his own suits or dummy's, but beginners 
frequently block themselves by neglecting to get out of 
their own way. We have seen how the third hand 
unblocks his partner's suits on general principles by 
following a simple rule. The dealer should not re- 
quire any rules to guide him, but he must look ahead. 
Take the following position at no trumps: 



10 led. 



Dummy wins the first trick with the Q, putting it 
up second hand, as it has only one guard to it. You 
start the clubs, of course, but you must not lead the J, 
hoping the K will cover it and be caught, or dummy 
will never be able to get in again, and you must not 
finesse as low as the 10, or you block dummy's suit. 
Play the Q, and if it wins return the A. If you do 
not lose the Q to the K the first time, or catch the 
K on the second round, the club suit is dead and should 



Dummy's. 


Dealer's. 


V Qe 


V A 3 2 


* J 9 8 7 5 3 


« A QIO 


<^ 7 5 2 


A K 4 3 


♦ 74 


♦ K6 3 



Illustrative Hand No. 25 

Unblocking; showing how the dealer gets out of his 
own way. Z deals and calls no trump. A leads. 



Q J 106 4 3 2 



♦ 104 

♦ A K J 9 



^ 5 




Y 


9 8 7 


* K J 9 4 




A B 


* 10 8 


^ KQ 9 8 5 




♦ 7 2 


♦ 864 


^ 


Z 


# Q107 5 3 2 




A K 






A 


A Q 7 6 5 


3 2 




^ 


A J 6 3 






♦ 







TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


8 


lO 


2 


3 


a 


4 # 


K # 


2 4^ 


K 


3 


6 4|k 


A ^ 


3 4jb 


A 


4t 


^ 5 


Q 


^ 7 


* 2 


5 


5 ^ 


- J 


V 8 


* 3 


6 


9 ♦ 


"^ lO 


• 9 


A 5 


7 


* 4 


^ 6 


7 ^ 


6 


8 


4k 9 


^ 4 


A 8 


4k 6 


9 


8 ^ 


3 


4k lO 


* 7 


10 


Q ^ 


^ 2 


5 4^ 


J ♦ 


11 


K < 


4. <^ 


7 4k 


A ^ 


la 


* J 


9 ^ 


lO 4k 


4k A 


13 


4k K 


J ♦ 


Q ♦ 


4k Q 



The dealer makes a little slam. 



1 84 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

be abandoned, because it is useless to pursue a suit 
in which you cannot possibly make another trick. 

In getting out of his own way, the dealer will 
sometimes require the exercise of a little ingenuity. 
Illustrative Hand No. 25 is a good example. The 
dealer knows by the Eleven Rule that dummy's 10 
will win the first trick, so he plays it. If he studies 
the hand attentively before playing another card, he 
must see that the only way in which he can unblock 
dummy's long suit of hearts is to discard the higher 
hearts in his own hand on dummy's winning spades. 
This makes all dummy's hearts good for tricks, and 
on them the dealer discards his clubs. 

These hands should impress upon the student a very 
important principle: always get rid of the high cards 
in the hand which is shorter in the suit. 

The Second Round 

When the third hand plays his partner's suit a 
second time, the card he selects depends upon whether 
he follows suit to a second lead, leads the suit him- 
self, or discards it. 

The rule for following suit or discarding is: al- 
ways keep the lowest card of the suit until the last 
round. 

Having played the 8 first from 10, 8, 2, play the 10 
next time, keeping the deuce until the last. This 



UNBLOCKING 185 



second play shows your partner that you have only 
one small card left, and that it is smaller than the 8. 
Having played the 10 the first time from J, 10, 5, 3, 
play your second-best next time, the 5, aWays keep- 
ing the smallest card until the last. This w^ill enable 
the leader to count you for four cards, because you 
play down instead of up, as in the first case given. 
He will know that if your 10 was your second-best 
you must still have one better card and also one 
smaller than the 5, because with J, 10, 5 only your 
play would be the 10 and then the J; not 10 and then 
5. This plain-suit echo is very useful on the second 
round in exposing the false cards played by the dealer. 
With it the adversaries can give each other a great 
deal of useful information if they thoroughly under- 
stand the leads and the correct third-hand plays in 
echoing and unblocking. 



LEADING UP TO DUMMY 

If your partner does not win the first round of his 
own suit, you may win it, or you may get into the 
lead again before he does. The proper card to return 
then becomes an important consideration, and the 
principles governing it apply equally to trumps and 
no trumps. 

With the best card of his suit, always lead it. It is 
a mistake to start a suit of your own when you still 
have cards of your partner^s suit, which is already 
started, unless you think or know you are stronger than 
he is, and are anxious to show your suit by leading it 
once; or unless you want to make what tricks you can 
while you are in. Illustrative Hand No. 19 was a 
case of this kind, in which B had to seize his oppor- 
tunity to show the suit that he knew was better than 
his partner's. 

With only two cards of your partner's suit re- 
maining, always return the higher of the two. For 
example : 

5 led. Dummy's, 9 3 2 Yours, K Q 6 

Whether you hold the first trick with the K or 
not, the Q is the proper card to return. 

186 



LEADING UP TO DUMMY 187 

With three cards remaining, return the lowest, un- 
less one of your cards is better than any in the dummy. 
Observe this distinction carefully, because it is im- 
portant to lead cards that dummy cannot win. 

5 led. Dummy's, 9 8 4 Yours, A lO 6 2 

Having won the first trick with the ace, if j^ou re- 
turn the lowest of three remaining, your partner will 
have to play an honour to shut out dummy's 8. As 
you have a card which is better than any dummy 
holds, you should lead it, and if the dealer does not 
cover it, your partner can let it win. 

5 led. Dummy's, A 8 2 Yours, K 9 4 3 

If you win the first trick with the K, you cannot 
beat dummy's ace, but you can prevent any possibility 
of dummy's winning a trick with the 8 by returning 
the 9. 

In opening a new suit, as in leading up to dummy's 
weakness, the pone should be careful to cover dummy's 
cards if he can. If the reader will turn back to Illus- 
trative Hand No. 13, he will observe that B leads 
a higher diamond than any that dummy holds, while 
in No. 22 he leads his fourth-best because he can- 
not beat the 9 in the dummy without risking his 
honour. 

When the third hand cannot lead back a card that is 
better than any of dummy's, the leader must infer that 



i88 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

he does not hold any such card; often very important 
and valuable information for him. 

3 led. Dummy's, A lO 5 Yours, K 8 6 2 

If you win the first trick with the K, you should 
return the deuce, which not only marks you with four 
of the suit originally, but with no card better than 
dummy's lO. If you held K, 8, 2 only, the return of 
the 8 would show one smaller and nothing as good as 
the dummy's. 

Changing Suits 

Sometimes it is impossible or disadvantageous to 
return your partner's suit. For instance: 

6 led. Dummy's, A J lO 9 Yours, K 4 

If you win the first trick with the K, it would be 
foolish to return the suit, unless you expected your 
partner to trump it, because dummy can win every 
trick in it. 

When the pone leads up to a very strong suit in the 
dummy, it is a fair inference that he has no more of 
it, and wants to rufi the second round. 

When you do not return your partner's suit, play 
your own suit only if you have a good one, and in 
doing so, follow the regular leads from high-card com- 
binations. 

Illustrative Hand No. 26 is an example of this 



Illustrative Hand No. 26 

Third hand refusing to return his partner's suit. 
Z deals. Y calls no trump. A leads. 



^ 87 

A 4- 3 

^ Q J 6 4- 2 

♦ J 9 7 5 



^ A 6 5 

♦ KQ J 9 2 

4 A 8 5 



A Q 




Y 




A 


B 


Z 





^104 
A 108 6 5 
4 107 3 
♦ K 8 6 3 



K Q J 9 3 2 

♦ A 7 
K 9 
^ 104 2 



TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


4 


y 


5 ^ 


K ^ 


3 ^ 


3 


^^ 7 




? 5 


^K 


V4 


3 


8 




^ 6 


V J 


^lO 


4: 


2 




^^ 


^2 


* 5 


5 


5 


4k 


A ♦ 


2 4k 


3 4k 


6 


7 


♦ 


Q ♦ 


4 4k 


6 4k 


7 


♦ 3 




A 2 


* A 


4k 6 


8 


4k 4 




S # 


Q 


7 , 


9 


6 




A 9 


^ 9 


4k 8 


10 


J 


V 


A J 


^3 


4k lO 


11 


9 


4k 


4k Q 


lO 4k 


K 4k 


13 


Q 




A 


9 ^ 


lO . 






-c 








13 


J 

1 


♦ 


* K 


4k 7 


8 ♦ 



A-B win the odd trick. 



190 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

position. B sees that it is impossible for A ever to get 
in again if the diamond is returned, so he starts his 
own suit. It will be observed that dummy holds off 
the hearts so as to exhaust A, because if the club ace 
is with A and he has no hearts to lead to B, the dealer 
wins the game easily. If B had returned the dia- 
mond, Y-Z would have won the game. 

Do not lead small cards unless dummy is weak in 
the suit, and always try to play cards which dummy 
cannot win except with an ace. If you have no good 
suit of your own, and cannot return your partner's, 
pick out the weakest suit in dummy's hand and lead 
up to that. Let your partner lead through dummy's 
strong suits. 

This is one of the most important things for the 
pone to remember: lead up to weakness and let your 
partner lead through strength. 

Look at Illustrative Hand No. 27 for an example 
of this position. B wins the first trick with the club Q. 
If he leads back clubs, he gives the dealer a certainty 
of two tricks and the control of the suit. If B leads 
a heart, he must lose his K unless his partner has the 
Q. To lead diamonds is to give up the advantage in 
that suit and the chance of two tricks in it. B's best 
play is the spade, beginning with the 10, so as to cover 
dummy's 9. When the 10 holds, A is marked with 
either A or K. 

The end game in this hand is very pretty. The 



Illustrative Hand No. 27 

Third hand leading to Dummy's weak suit, 
deals. Y calls no trump. A leads. 



V J 10 6 

♦ 9 7 5 4 2 

♦ 10 5 

♦ K J 8 




^ K5 
4k KQ8 
♦ K J 7 6 
^ Q104 2 



TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


A 4 


A 3 




* Q 


♦ lO 


3 


8 41^ 


6 


♦ 


lO 4 


3 4|b 


3 


J ♦ 


9 


♦ 


2 ♦ 


A # 


4: 

5 


lO 
6 


" A 

- 4 




^^ 5 

.. K 


2 

^ 3 


6 


K ^ 


8 




4 # 


5 # 


7 


lO i 


A 


''r 


6 ♦ 


2 # 


8 


^ J 


^ 9 




7 ♦ 


^Q 


9 


* 2 


* 6 




* 8 


W 7 


10 


* 5 


* J 




Q ♦ 


7 4!k 


11 


* 7 


A A 




4 K 


3 t 


13 


5 - 


9 


4 


J ♦ 


4 ♦ 


13 


A 9 


Q 


♦ 


K ♦ 


8 ♦ 



A-B win the odd trick. 



192 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

dealer forces B to discard at trick 9. He can read 
B for two guarded kings and the best spade. Now, B 
knows by his partner's fourth-best lead and his sub- 
sequent play of the deuce, that the dealer has no club 
and must therefore lead a diamond, in which suit B 
holds tenace. 

When dummy has no very weak suit, it is better to 
lead up to an ace than to a guarded king or a twice- 
guarded queen, because while the ace must make, the 
K or Q might not if it is not led up to. Suppose that 
diamonds are trumps: 



# Q led. 



You win the first trick with the spade ace and see 
from your partner's lead that the dealer must have the 
K. It is better to lead to the heart ace than to the 
guarded club K; but the 9 is the card to lead, be- 
cause it is higher than any of dummy's cards except 
the ace. 

Dummy's hand is sometimes so strong in plain suits 
that the best thing seems to be a trump lead. This is 
all very well if dummy is weak in trumps, and you 
can go through the strong trump hand to advantage. 

Illustrative Hand No. 28 is an example of this. A's 
opening lead of a short suit shows that he must have 



Dummy's. 


Yours. 


"^ A 8 4 3 


^ K 9 3 2 


♦ K J 2 


A 108 5 4 


♦ A Q106 5 


♦ K4 2 


♦ 7, 


♦ A7 



Illustrative Hand No. 28 

Leading trumps through the strong hand. Z deals 
and calls Hearts. A leads. 



^ K J 2 

♦ 974 

♦ 109 5 

♦ Q10 9 2 




^53 
A J 108 3 
A Q 8 2 
♦ A K 6 



TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


lO ' 


J 


Q 


3 ♦ 


a 


J 


4 


't 5 


^ 8 


3 


9 


4 ♦ 


2 ♦ 


6 ^ 


4: 


5 > 


K ♦ 


A ♦ 


7 % 


5 


w- 2 


^ 6 


^ 3 


e# ^ 


6 


♦ 4 


♦ 2 


*^ 


* A 


r 


^ K 


^ 7 


* 8 


'"^ 9 


8 


2 « 


4 4 


K 4k 


3 ♦ 


9 


9 ^ 


5 4 


A 4k 


7 # 


10 


♦ 7 


♦ 5 


8 # 


'^ lO 


11 


♦ 9 


♦ 6 


6 41 


^ Q 


13 


Q ♦ 


« Q 


* lO 


J ♦ 


13 


10 ♦ 


♦ K 


♦ J 


8 4k 



A-B win three by cards. 



194 



COMPLETE BRIDGE 



tenaces or guarded honours in other suits, so B, who 
is protected in all suits himself, leads trumps to 
dummy's weakness as the best chance. 

The student who wishes to try his skill on the 
various tactics of the third hand can set down op- 
posite the numbers of the following test hands the 
cards he would select to play, afterward comparing his 
selections with the key. 

Test Hands for the Pone 

Suppose the call is no trumps. 
No. 51. 2 led. Dummy, 7 6 4 Yours, J lO 3 

How many cards of this suit has dealer? 
No. 52. 5 led. Dummy, j 3 Yours, Q 4 2 

How many cards of this suit has dealer? 
No. 53. 8 led. Dummy, lo 3 2 Yours, A 7 4 

How many higher than the 8 has dealer? 
No. 54. 5 led. Dummy, 8 6 2 Yours, J 7 

How many higher than the 5 has dealer? 

Suppose the call is a trump, plain suit led; what 
high cards . has the dealer in each of the following 
cases ? 



LEADING UP TO DUMMY 



195 



No. 55. 
No. 56. 
No. 57. 
No. 58. 
No. 59. 
No, 60. 
No. 61. 



10 led. Dummy, 8 2 

9 led. Dummy, 10 2 

6 led. Dummy, J lo 2 
8 led. Dummy, 9 5 2 
J led. Dummy, 10 2 

7 led. Dummy, K 8 2 

8 led. Dummy, A 7 2 



Yours, 9 7 6 
Yours, Q 8 7 6 
Yours, K 8 5 
Yours, Q J 6 
Yours, A 7 4 
Yours, A 9 4 
Yours, J 10 4 



In the following positions, dummy always playing a 
small card second hand, what would you play to the 
first trick and what card would you return? 

No. 62. 3 led. Dummy, A 8 2 Yours, K J 4 

No. 63. 3 led. Dummy, J 9 2 Yours, Q10 8 

No. 64. 5 led. Dummy, A 9 2 Yours, KIO^ 3 

No. 65. 7 led. Dummy, K 9 3 Yours, A 6 4 2 

Suppose there is a declared trump, what card would 
you play on your partner's lead? 

No. 66. K led. Dummy, A 6 3 Yours, 9 2 

No. 67. A led. • Dummy, 9 6 3 Yours, Q J 

No. 68. K led. Dummy, A 9 6 Yours, J 8 2 

Suppose there is no trump, what card would you 
play on your partner's lead? 

No. 69. K led. Dummy, A 6 2 Yours, 10 9 5 

No. 70. Q led. Dummy, A K 6 Yours, 7 2 

No. 71. A led. Dummy, 7 6 Yours, K10 4 2 



DISCARDING 

There is probably no part of the game upon which 
the opinions of even good players dIfEer so much as the 
discard, especially at no trumps. With a declared 
trump it is generally admitted that there is little hope 
for the adversaries to make anything but the best cards 
of their plain suits, because six or seven tricks in every 
hand usually fall to the trumps. The smaller cards 
of their strong suits can be used to the best advantage 
in showing the partner what they want led, while the 
small cards of their weak suits, if kept together, may 
prevent the dealer from establishing those suits and 
making tricks in them after the trumps are drawn. 

The directive part of the discard is especially useful 
in playing against trump declarations, because the need 
for immediate action is imperative, and no time must 
be lost in feeling round to find your partner's suit. 

Let us suppose hearts are trumps, you are third 
hand, and your partner leads the third winning club, 
having held A, K, Q: 

Dummy's. Yours. 

^r J 7 4 #95 

* 9 * 



A A led. 

4A83 409752 

^ Q109 4 ♦ A K 7 5 

196 



DISCARDING 197 



As the card led is a winning card, you need not 
trump it, but can take the opportunity of directing 
your partner to the suit you would like him to lead 
next, the spade, by discarding one of your small 
ones. 

Opinions differ as to the best discard against a no- 
trumper. The theory of those who discard from weak- 
ness is, that as there are no trumps to stop their good 
suits, they should keep every card in them, and throw 
away from the suits in which they have no prospect 
of winning anything. There are many who will tell 
you that they never throw away a possible trick- 
winning card, and therefore discard from weakness. 
But if you watch their play, you will see them throw 
away tricks, two and three at a time, by unguarding 
these weak suits. 

The important thing at bridge, when playing against 
the dealer, is not to win the game but to save it. It 
is not to make all the tricks possible in your suits, so 
much as it is to prevent him from making all the 
tricks in his suits. Two guards to a jack or 10 may 
stop a suit of seven cards. Never forget that the suit 
which the dealer will attack next, after he is done with 
the one on which you discard, is not your strong suit, 
but his strong suit, which is your weak suit, and if 
you unguard it by discarding you play his game. 

It is true that many good players still discard from 
weakness at no trumps, and many have offered to show 



198 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

me hands in which the discard from strength has lost 
a trick. The only answer I can make to this is, that 
for every hand they can show me in which a trick is 
lost by discarding from strength, I can show them 
ten that lose from two to four tricks by discarding 
weakness. 

It is frequently said that if the eldest hand leads 
one suit, and the dealer another, a discard of weakness 
in a third must show strength in the fourth. But the 
directive part of the discard is not everything. It is 
quite as important to make it protective. 

The best rule for the average player, and especially 
for the beginner, whether it is a no-trumper or not, 
is always to discard from the best protected suit, or 
from the suit which you are willing your partner 
should lead. 

The universal discard from strength is a great help 
to your partner, because he not only knows at once 
which suit to lead you, but what to trust you for if 
he has to let go something himself. There is always 
a doubt about the discard from weakness, and I have 
never yet seen a player who stuck to it consistently. 
If the reader will look at Illustrative Hand No. 29, 
he will see an example of the manner in which all 
doubt is removed by adopting the discard from 
strength. It is obvious to A, when his partner does 
not follow suit to hearts, that the dealer is holding 
up the ace to make both ace and jack. A must 



Illustrative Hand No. 29 

Discarding the suit you want led to you. Z deals. 
Y calls no trump. A leads. 



^ KQ107 2 

4k J 4 2 

♦ J 9 

♦ Q6 2 




* Q 9 7 

♦ 106 4 2 

# A K108 7 3 



TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


1 


K 


3 


3 ♦ 


6 


a 


Q ♦ 


4 # 


7 # 


3 


3 


6 # 


9 4 


lO # 


^^ 8 


4: 


2 4|k 


5 # 


A 4k 


5 


5 


* 2 


J ♦ 


K # 


* 3 


6 


7 


4 


8 4(k 


* 5 


7 


« J 


* A 


* 9 


4k lO 


8 


9 


A 


2 V 


7 


9 


J 


Q 


4 ♦ 


8 


10 


* 2 


A 8 


* Q 


* K 


11 


* 4 


5 


6 


K % 


13 


Q 


A 


* 7 


^"-^- J 


13 


* lO 


9 


\oi 


* 6 



A-B win the odd trick. 



200 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

change the suit, and, guided by his partner, he leads 
the right one. If B were a player who discarded 
from weakness and let go a diamond, A would 
naturally lead a club through dummy's ace and one 
small, in preference to risking his safely guarded spade 
queen, and the dealer would win five by cards. It 
should be observed that dummy would probably not 
have passed the first trick had he thought that B would 
not follow suit. 

An example from one of the most common positions 
in the game will probably make clearer the importance 
of the protective character of the discard at no trump. 
If the reader will take the trouble to sort out a suit 
of thirteen cards and give to one partner the Q and 
to the other partner the J, with two small cards ac- 
companying either of them, one small card with the 
other, he will find that no matter how he distributes 
the remainder of the suit between the opposing hands, 
and no matter how they play their cards, this com- 
bination of Q in one hand and J in the other, either 
of them twice guarded, must stop the suit. It is 
understood, of course, that the holders of the Q and 
J will not lead the suit themselves, nor play their high 
cards second hand. 

Every bridge player should remember when he holds 
the Q, the J, or even the lO, and one or two small 
cards, that there is always the possibility that his 
partner holds the other part of the combination that 



Illustrative Hand No. 30 



The advantage of discarding from strength so as to 



protect weak suits, 
leads. 



Z deals and calls no trump. A 



♦ Q J 6 4 2 

♦ K 8 5 

♦ J 9 4 2 



^ A 9 8 7 4 3 

* 9 8 5 3 

♦ Q 3 

# 6 




^ Q J 6 
A lO 

♦ J 6 4 

♦ A KQ 7 5 3 



TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


^ 7 


^ 5 


^ J 


* K 


3 


* 3 


* 2 


4k lO 


* A 


3 


4k 5 


4k 4 


3 # 


4k K 


4 


* 8 


A J 


5 # 


4k 7 


5 


A 9 


* Q 


7 # 


^ 2 


6 


6 4 


* 6 


Q ♦ 


^ lO 


7 


3 ♦ 


K ♦ 


4 4 


2 ♦ 


8 


Q ♦ 


8 ♦ 


6 ♦ 


A ♦ 


9 


^ 3 


2 # 


K # 


lO ^ 


10 


^ 4 


5 ♦ 


^ Q 


7 ♦ 


11 


^ 8 


4 # 


A 4^ 


8 4k 


13 


^ 9 


9 41 


J ♦ 


9 ♦ 


13 


^ A 


J 4^ 


^ 6 


!©♦ 



The dealer wins two by cards only. 



202 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

protects the suit. Even four cards to a 9 may be 
valuable. 

If the reader will examine Illustrative Hand No. 
30, he will find an instructive example of this position. 
If B unguards the J of diamonds, he loses five by 
cards. He does not know that his partner holds the 
Q, of course, but if his partner has no honour in dia- 
monds, his play makes no difference. 

Illustrative Hand No. 31 is an example of dis- 
carding from weakness. Four cards to the 9 do not 
look very promising as stoppers; but, as already 
pointed out, the suit the dealer is going to play for, 
after you have discarded, is his own long suit, not 
yours; in this case obviously the spade, not the dia- 
mond. The dealer's object in leading his established 
suit of clubs is to force discards, a very common 
artifice, and often effective. In this case it induces 
B to give the dealer two tricks, which a player who 
discarded from strength would have saved. 

The directive discard is usually confined to the pone, 
because the eldest hand shows his strong suit by his 
opening lead. If the eldest hand has to discard, he 
naturally keeps protection in a suit with which he can 
regain the lead, but at the same time he must be 
careful not to unguard weak suits, which the dealer 
will probably attack next. 

The pone should be alert to infer from the discards 
of the eldest hand what he holds. Illustrative Hand 



Illustrative Hand No. 31 

Showing the danger of discarding a weak suit at no 
trump. Z deals and calls no trump. A leads. 



V KQ109 4 2 

* J 8 4 
4 Q103 

# K 




9 8 3 

A 5 2 

4 A 9 7 5 4 

♦ 9754 



TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


# K 




V 7 


V 3 


¥ 5 


3 


^ Q 




^ J 


¥ 8 


¥ A 


3 


♦ 4 




* Q 


4k 2 


* 6 


4: 


* 8 




* K 


* 5 


* 7 


5 


4k J 




* 3 


4 4b 


4k A 


6 


^ 2 




2 ♦ 


5 ♦ 


4k lO 


T 


^ 4 




6 ^ 


7 4^ 


4k 9 


8 


K 


♦ 


2 # 


9 # 


A 4k 


9 


^ 9 




3 # 


4 4 


J ♦ 


10 


^ lO 




Q ♦ 


5 4 


lO 4k 


11 


3 


♦ 


8 ♦ 


7 4 


¥ 6 


13 


lO 


4 


6 ^ 


9 4 


8 t 


13 


Q 


4? 


J f 


A 4 


K 



The dealer wins five by cards. 



204 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



No. 32 is a simple illustration of an inference of this 
kind. A does not trump the diamond, because he 
wants the pone to get in and lead trumps. B infers 
that if A can afford to discard his own established 
suit of clubs, he must have something worth keeping 
in hearts, so he leads a small heart to put his part- 
ner in. The play makes no difference in the result, 
but it shows the possibilities of inference. 

Some players use what is called the reverse discard 
when they are compelled to depart from their regular 
method. A player's strong suit may be A, K alone, 
while he may hold a weak suit of five cards, which 
he does not want led. In such cases he may, if he 
sees that he will have two discards, throw first a 
higher card and then a smaller one from his weak suit, 
to show that, although he discards it, he does not want 
it led. Those who usually discard from weakness use 
the reverse discard to show that the suit they are 
throwing away is really strong, but they must use 
two cards to complete the information where one 
would have done if their habit were to discard from 
strength. 

Such discards as an A from suits headed by A, K, 
Q, J, or a K from K, Q, J, 10, are too obvious to 
require mention. 

The dealer usually knows what to keep and what 
to throw away, but in his hurry to make tricks the 
beginner often overlooks the fact that he will put 



Illustrative Hand No. 32 



Showing how a discard in one suit may show re- 
entry in another. Z deals. Y calls Spades. A doubles 
and leads. 



V K3 

4 A K107 6 2 

i 

^ A Q109 3 




V A J 8 6 

♦ J 9 5 4 

♦ A K 6 3 

♦ K 



TEICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


A K 


4k 8 


♦ 4. 


4k 3 


» 


A A 


♦ Q 


♦ 5 


2 # 


3 


* 2 


7 * 


K 


2 4 


4 


3 ♦ 


6 ^ 


K 4i 


4- # 


5 


V K 


m 5 


^ 6 


^ 2 


6 


A 4|k 


7 4k 


3 ^ 


5 4k 


7 


Q ♦ 


8 4k 


6 4 


J 4k 


8 


♦ 6 


8 1 


4k J 


W 4 


9 


4k lO 


lO 


* 9 


V 9 


10 


A 7 


Q 


8 


4. 


11 


^ 3 


^ lO 


^ J 


5 4 


12 


9 # 


^ 7 


A 


9 4 


13 


10 4|b 


V Q 


^ A 


J f 



A-B make a little slam. 



2o6 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



himself in 


difficulties about 


discards. 


Take this 


situation : 




Dummy's. 
fp K 9 4 




Dealer's. 
¥ Q J 7 3 


4 K led. 




A 9 3 

« 4 2 




* K J 5 4 
< A J 5 






^ A Q J 10 9 4 


♦ K 2 



You hold up on the first round of diamonds, so as 
to make both A and J. Let us suppose that the eldest 
hand goes on, leading the fourth-best after the K. 
You are in the lead with the J and still hold the 
command of the suit. 

Now, if you rush of? to make all the spades, you 
force yourself to make four discards from the dealer's 
hand. What are these four discards to be? Will you 
unguard the clubs or the hearts? A moment's re- 
flection must show that it is far better to let the 
spades alone for the present and to lead a small heart, 
playing the K and returning the suit, until you either 
force out the A or win two heart tricks. After this 
you can safely play spades, not forgetting to make the 
ace of diamonds while you are in the lead after play- 
ing the hearts, because in such a position it is not 
likely that the adversaries will lead diamonds after 
letting you make two heart tricks, but will kill your 
clubs. 

In England, it is usual to ask the partner, before 
play begins, how he discards, and the information is 



DISCARDING 207 



usually accompanied by information as to his lead 
when the pone doubles a no-trumper. '' Weak and 
weak," means that he discards weakness and leads 
weakness. '' Heart and strong," that he will lead a 
heart when the pone doubles, and discards from 
strength. This has already been mentioned in con- 
nection with the suggestions for leading at no trumps. 



SECOND HAND PLAY 

The second hand is the second player on any trick, 
so that a person may become second hand at any stage 
of the play. The principles governing this position are 
in many respects the same for the dealer and for his 
adversaries. 

When a small card is led, if the second hand holds 
any combination of high cards from which a high card 
would be led, he should play a high card second hand, 
with A, K, Q; K, Q, J; K, J, lo; Q, J, lo; A, K; 
K, Q, for instance, all of which are combinations from 
which a high card would be led, one of those high 
cards should be played second hand on a small card 
led. 

In every case the lowest of the high cards in the 
combination should be selected, playing the Q second 
hand from K, Q, the lO from K, J, lO, etc. To 
play the A second hand when holding the K, de- 
ceives only your partner if you are not the dealer. 
It does not matter what high card the dealer plays, 
either from his own hand or from dummy's, so that 
he protects himself by playing one of them. 

It is always advisable to cover second hand with any 
two high cards in sequence, such as Q, J, or J, lO. 

208 



SECOND HAND PLAY 209 

The great difference in the dealer's play is when 
the high cards are divided between his own hand and 
dummy's. He may have K, Q in the second hand, 
but there is no occasion to play either of them if he 
has A or J in the fourth hand. 

With two honours divided, such as K in one hand 
and Q in the other, or J in one hand and Q in the 
other, the dealer need not play either of them second 
hand, but can let the lead come up to the card in the 
fourth hand. To play a Q second hand from dummy, 
not knowing where the ace is, when you have the K 
in your own hand, is to risk throwing the Q away 
unless it is only once guarded. 

There is one common position which the dealer 
should be familiar with. This is the division of the 
A and Q or the K and J. If the lead comes through 
the ace, making the Q fourth hand, let it go up to 
the Q, because both Q and A must win tricks in that 
case. If the lead is through the Q and the A is fourth 
hand, the Q should not be played unless it is only once 
guarded. With only one guard, the best chance to 
make two tricks in the suit is to play the Q second 
hand. But if the 10 is with the ace in the fourth 
hand, the Q should never be played second hand. If 
you will take a suit of thirteen cards and lay out this 
position, you will see that with Q and one small in 
the second hand. A, 10 and another in the fourth 
hand, you must make two tricks, no matter where 



2IO COMPLETE BRIDGE 

the K and J are or how they are played, if your op- 
ponents lead the suit. Much the same is true of the 
division of the K and J. 

The division of A, J, lo is difficult only when the 
J and lO are both in the same hand. At no trumps, 
when the leader may have both K and Q and still 
lead a small card, it is always safest to play the lo 
second hand. With a declared trump it is better to 
play the lO second hand if any small card will force 
your ace, so as to make the J good for a trick. 

Illustrative Hand No. 33 is an example of this 
position. By the Eleven Rule the dealer knows that 
B has one high card in the suit, and if Y does not 
cover with the 10, the 9 will force the ace, leaving 
the two cards in the dummy at the mercy of the K 
and Q. Even if B can cover dummy's 10, the J will 
be good for a trick on the third round. In this hand 
the student should observe that the dealer can discard 
his strong suit from one hand, as it is useless to keep 
the same number of cards in each hand in the same 
suit; but he must unblock the diamonds by playing 
the higher cards from the hand that is shorter in the 
suit. 

The use of the Eleven Rule will sometimes enable 
the dealer to save his high cards if he infers what the 
third hand must hold in the suit. Suppose this is the 
position, hearts trumps and a club led : 

7 led. Dummy's, Q J 5 2 Dealer's, 8 e 4^ 



• Illustrative Hand No. 33 

Covering with hfgh cards second hand. Z deals and 
calls no trump. A leads. 



^ KQ 7 6 5 

♦ A J 4 

♦ K 3 

♦ 10 7 4 




^93 

Jk K 9 8 6 5 3 

♦ 874 

^ K9 



TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


6 


^ lO 


^^ 3 


4 


a 


4 # 


3 # 


9 ^ 


Q ♦ 


3 


7 4|b 


5 # 


K ^ 


A 4|b 


4: 


lO ^ 


J ♦ 


* 3 


2 # 


5 


* 4 


8 # 


* 5 


8 


6 


5 


6 41^ 


* 6 


J 


7 


K ♦ 


2 i 


4 . 


Q 


8 


K 


V 2 


^ 9 


A 


9 


3 


5 t 


7 V 


A i 


10 


* J 


9 


8 


6 


11 
13 


^ 7 
^ A 


lO 
* 2 


* 8 

* 9 


* 7 
4k lO 


13 


^ Q 


^ J 


A K 


* Q 



The dealer wins four by cards- 



212 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

Deducting seven from eleven leaves four. You have 
between your two hands three of these four cards, so 
that the third hand has only one higher than the card 
led. Now, that card must be either A or K, because 
the eldest hand would begin with one of those cards 
if he held both, so it is not necessary to cover the seven 
with either Q or J. 

When the dealer sees, from the Eleven Rule, that 
the third hand will pass the trick if dummy does not 
cover, he must protect himself. For instance, no 
trumps, a plain suit led: 

7 led. Dummy's, Q lO 2 Dealer's, 6 5 

The pone will be able to tell by the Eleven Rule 
that the 7 is better than anything you hold in the suit, 
so you must cover the 7 with dummy's 10 in order to 
force the pone into the lead, if he can win the trick, 
and make him lead up to your guarded Q. Unless 
the pone has the J, dummy's Q is safe, but if you do 
not cover, they make every trick in the suit by catch- 
ing your Q in the next two leads. 

Illustrative Hand No. 34 is an example of this 
position. B is known by the dealer to have two cards 
higher than the one led, and one of those cards must 
be the A, Q, or J. That B will pass the trick if 
dummy passes the 7 is evident, and in order to pre- 
vent being led through again, dummy covers the 7 
with the 9. 



Illustrative Hand No. 34 

Covering by the Eleven Rule, second hand. Z deals 
and calls no trump. A leads. 



^ Q 9 8 6 

♦ Q J 8 7 5 

♦ A 4 3 

♦ 6 




^ J 

A A103 

♦ Q J 9 8 2 

4 J 105 4 



TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


4k 7 


♦ 9 


4k lO 


4k 4 


3 


A i 


6 ♦ 


Q ♦ 


K f 


3 


* Q 


* 2 


4k 3 


4k 6 


4: 


* 5 


4k K 


4k A 


2 4k 


5 


3 4 


7 ♦ 


J ♦ 


5 ♦ 


6 


4 ^ 


7 4^ 


2 4 


lO # 


7 


6 # 


8 4k 


4 ^ 


A 4k 


8 


^# 6 


9 ^ 


5 4k 


K 4k 


9 


4k 8 


V 3 


lO # 


Q 4k 


10 


V 8 


V 4 


^ J 


V A 


11 


^ 9 


V 5 


8 ^ 


^ K 


13 


^ Q 


^ 7 


9 f 


^ 2 


13 


4k J 


^ lO 


J ♦ 


3 4k 



A-B win the odd trick. 



214 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

On the second round, it would be foolish for dummy 
to cover with the K, because that would clear the 
suit. The only chance, then, is to hold the K until 
B's cards are exhausted. 

Many players, when their king is led through, are 
in too great a hurry to play it on a Q led. This is 
perfectly correct when opposed to the dealer, as there 
is the chance that it may make an inferior honour good 
in the partner's hand. But if the dealer knows there 
is no such honour in his partner's hand, his only hope is 
that the third hand will be obliged to win the trick, or 
will hold up the ace until his partner's suit is bl'bcked. 

When B leads diamonds in Hand No. 34, Z covers 
with the K so as to force the adversaries to play two 
honours to win one trick, and make his own 10 good, 
as it will still be guarded. 

Before playing any card from dummy, the dealer 
should always ask himself what the leader's card 
means. If it is an honour, from what combination is 
it led? If it is a small card, how many higher has 
the third hand? The play of the third hand should 
also be carefully watched, to see whether or not he 
echoes. 

Second Hand on High Cards 

When a high card is led, the second hand should 
always cover it with the next higher honour if he 



SECOND HAND PLAY 



215 



holds it. This applies especially to the adversaries, it 
not being necessary for the dealer to cover if he sees 
that the cards in the fourth hand will protect him. 
This principle is usually expressed by the maxim: 
cover an honour with an honour. 

When a J is led, and the second hand holds A, Q, 
the A is the better play, being the best chance to make 
two tricks in the suit; because if the K is on the left, 
the Q is thrown away if you cover with it; but if you 
play the A, your Q may be led up to later on. If the 
reader will refer to Hand No. 11, he will see that 
Z plays the A second hand when B leads the spade J 
through him at the second trick. 

It is seldom right to consider the 10 as an honour, 
and never right for the adversaries to cover a 10 with 
the J or Q unless they hold a fourchette over it, be- 
cause if your partner has the other part of the de- 
fensive Q and J combination already referred to, it is 
most important not to play either Q or J second hand. 
If the reader will refer to Hand No. 22, he will see 
that A does not cover the spade J with the Q, because 
unless B has the K there is not a trick in the suit by 
any play. 

Second hand should always cover with a fourchette. 
A fourchette is the combination of the cards above and 
below the one led. If a J is led and you hold Q, 10 
second hand, you have a fourchette and .should play 
the Q. The dealer should cover if he has the four- 



2i6 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



chette divided between the two hands. Suppose the 
eldest hand leads a lO, and the dealer holds the J in 
the dummy and the 9 in his own hand, he should put 
the J on the 10. The dealer need not cover if he has 
in the fourth hand a card better than the one led. 
Suppose a J is led, and dummy holds Q, 10 second 
hand, the dealer holding the K. It is not necessary to 
put the Q on the J, because the K will win the trick 
if the A is not played third hand. 

At no trumps, the practice of covering with four- 
chettes should be carried down to the smallest cards, 
playing the 8 on the 7 led when holding 8 and 6, for 
instance. 

Imperfect fourchettes are combinations of the card 
above the one led and the next but one below it, and 
as a rule they should cover. In Hand No. 34, when 
B leads diamonds through Z, who has the imperfect 
fourchette, K, 10 over the Q led, Z covers. In Hand 
No. 22, although A holds an imperfect fourchette, Q, 
9, over the J led, he does not cover, for the reason 
already pointed out. 

When the dealer sees that he can win the trick in 
either hand, the decision must be to keep the high card 
in the hand in which it will be most useful later on. 
This will be more fully gone into when we come to 
re-entry cards. 

The student who wishes to test his knowledge of 
the second hand plays can write the card he would play 



SECOND HAND PLAY 217 



second hand opposite the numbers of the test questions 
which follow. 

The hands are all no-trumpers. After the lead, the 
first cards given are those supposed to be laid down 
by the dummy, and the others are the dealer's. You 
are supposed to be the dealer. These should be 
studied with the actual cards. 

Test Hands for the Dealer 







Dummy's. 


Dealer's. 


No. 72. 


10 led. 


J 3 2 


Q7 


No. 73. 


8 led. 


Q 5 


A 6 2 


No. 74. 


7 led. 


A Q J 2 


9 3 


No. 75. 


6 led. 


J 2 


K 5 3 


No. 76. 


7 led. 


Q 8 4 2 


6 


No. 77. 


5 led. 


A J 3 


10 


No. 78. 


7 led. 


KQ 3 2 


9 8 


No. 79. 


8 led. 


Q3 


106 2 


No. 80. 


K led. 


A 3 2 


J 6 4 


In these, 


what car 


•d should the dealer 


play? 


No. 81. 


K led. 


J 3 2 


A 6 4 


No. 82. 


K led. 


7 3 


A105 4 



THE DEALER'S PLAY 

With a Trump 

We now come to the consideration of the dealer's 
play with regard to the general management of the 
two hands, his own and the dummy's combined. We 
shall first take up the principles that should guide him 
when he is playing with a declared trump suit. 

Trump Management 

As soon as the dealer gets into the lead, one of the 
first things for him to decide upon is whether or not 
to lead trumps. Most of the authorities on bridge 
advise the beginner always to lead trumps when he has 
five or more in one hand, but such a rule, if followed, 
would lead to serious loss in a great many hands. 
There should be no difficulty in learning the exceptions 
to such a rule, but we will take up the rule itself first. 

The cases in which the dealer or the dummy should 
lead trumps the moment either of them obtains the 
lead should be easily mastered. 

Always lead trumps if you have a good suit, either 

218 



Illustrative Hand No. 35 



Advantage of getting out trumps early. Z 
Y calls Hearts. A leads. 



deals. 



^ K 9 

♦ 

♦ 108 4 3 2 

♦ KQ J 7 4 3 



^ A Q J 6 4 

* Q J 107 2 

♦ 

^ 108 2 




^ 108 2 

♦ 9 8 6 5 

♦ A KQ 7 

♦ 6 



TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


K 4 


2 ^ 


6 # 


A 4|b 


Ji 


^ 9 


J 


^ 2 


3 


3 


V K 


A 


^ 8 


^ 5 


4: 


2 ♦ 


Q 


« lO 


^ 7 


5 


3 # 


* 2 


* 5 


A K 


6 


4 4|b 


* 7 


A 6 


* A 


7 


7 4 


* lO 


* 8 


* 4 


8 


3 V 


A J 


* 9 


* 3 


9 


4 ♦ 


A Q 


5 ♦ 


5 # 


10 


J ♦ 


lO # 


7 ♦ 


9 ^ 


11 


Q ♦ 


8 # 


Q^ 


6 ♦ 


13 


8 ♦ 


4 


K ♦ 


9 ♦ 


13 


lO ♦ 


^ 6 


A ♦ 


J ♦ 



The dealer wins five by cards. 



220 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



in your 


own 


hand 


or dummy's. For 


instance, hearts 


trumps : 






Dummy's. 
^ A KQ 7 3 2 


Dealer's. 
* 5 


♦ K led. 






A Q 5 4 2 
♦ 7 3 2 


Jk A K107 6 3 

♦ J 6 2 

♦ A K 5 



Dummy trumps the diamond, of course. With 
every trick in clubs to a certainty, the only danger of 
losing any of them is that the adversaries will ruff 
clubs, therefore you should get out all the trumps 
you can at once. Nothing but six trumps against 
you in one hand can prevent your winning the 
game. 

Illustrative Hand No. 35 is an example of an im- 
mediate trump lead. Many players would allow 
dummy to trump a diamond first, intending to put 
themselves in again with a club, and then lead trumps 
to the dummy and finesse. It will be time enough to 
ruff diamonds after the adversaries' trumps have been 
got out of the way of the club suit. 

Beginners lose a great many tricks by refusing to 
lead trumps when they have good cards in their hands. 
It is not of the slightest use to play winning cards in 
plain suits while the adversaries have any trumps, un- 
less the object is to weaken an opposing trump hand. 
A suit which was not good for much originally may 
become so through the play, in which case trumps 



Illustrative Hand No. 36 

Getting rid of losing cards before leading trumps. 
Z deals. Y calls Diamonds. A leads. 

^ K 9 2 

* A 4 3 

* A J lO 9 6 4 

* K 



▼ A Q 5 

* K Q J 6 

♦ KQ 2 

^ 108 6 




^ J 8 7 3 

♦ 10 7 5 

♦ 75 

♦ 7543 



TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


i 


A K 


A A 


♦ 5 


* 2 


2 


6 # 


K ♦ 


3 ♦ 


A ♦ 


3 


8 ^ 


4k 3 


4 ^ 


Q ♦ 


4 


lO ♦ 


* 4 


5 ♦ 


J ^ 


5 


Q ♦ 


A 4 


7 ^ 


9 4^ 


6 


K ♦ 


9 ♦ 


5 ^ 


3 f 


7 


^ Q 


4 ♦ 


« 7 


A 8 


8 


2 ^ 


6 ♦ 


7 ♦ 


8 * 


9 


Jk 6 


^ 2 


^ 3 


2 # 


10 


^ A 


^ 9 


^ 7 


# 4 


11 


* J 


lO ♦ 


4k lO 


4k 9 


13 


^5 


K 


* 8 


^ 6 


13 


♦ Q 


J ^ 


^ J 


^lO 



The dealer wins the game on the hand. 



222 



COMPLETE BRIDGE 



should be 
trumps : 



# K led, 



led to defend it. For instance, hearts 



Dummy's. 

V KQ J 6 3 

* J 7 5 

♦ A Q 3 

4b 4 3 



Dealer's. 

V A 7 2 

A 4 2 
♦ 65 
^ J 108 7 6 5 



Let us suppose that the eldest hand follows the K 
of spades with the A, and on dropping his partner's Q 
leads a third round. Dummy should trump with the 
J, so as to shut out any smaller trump, and then lead 
K and Q of trumps, followed by a small one, so that 
you shall get into the lead on the third round with 
your A. If you catch all the trumps, you make three 
spade tricks. 

But now let us change the original lead, and sup- 
pose it to be the 7 of diamonds, instead of the K of 
spades. Dummy finesses the Q and loses it to the K. 
The diamond is returned and dummy is in with the 
A. Look at the hand and ask yourself, what is there 
to lead trumps for? How could you make an extra 
trick by leading trumps, even if you caught them all? 

Now let us look at some of the exceptions to the 
rule of always leading trumps immediately. 

Instead of rushing to trumps at first, it is often ad- 
visable to get rid of losing cards in a plain suit by 
leading winning cards in another plain suit. 

Look at Illustrative Hand No. 36. If trumps are 



THE DEALER'S PLAY 223 

led at the second trick, the adversaries must win the 
second round, and they will at once make two club 
tricks, which, with the A of hearts, cuts the dealer 
down to three by cards at the most. By winning 
dummy's K of spades and discarding dummy's losing 
cards, the dealer saves two tricks and wins the game 
on the hand. Later in the hand, Y over-trumps A 
to prevent being put in with a club and having to 
lead away from his single honour in hearts. He then 
leads the 9 of trumps to make the 8 in Z's hand good 
for re-entry. 

In leading trumps, you must remember that you 
draw your own trumps as well as the adversaries', and 
it is sometimes advisable to make one or two of the 
small trumps in the hand which is short in them before 
leading trumps. 

It is very bad policy to force yourself to trump with 
the strong hand, because you weaken it. But take this 
position, hearts trumps: 

Dummy's. Dealer's. 

^765 ^AKQ432 

* K led. * ^ * ^ ^ ^ 

4A543 ^K2 

♦K7532 #84 

After winning the first trick with the club ace, there 
is no necessity to draw dummy's trumps for the sake 
of catching the adversaries'. Return the club first, 
and let dummy trump it. Then put yourself in with 



224 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



a diamond and let dummy make another little trump, 
after which it will be time enough to lead trumps. If 
you count up the tricks possible, you will see that this 
is the surest way to win the game. This position 
should be attentively studied, as it is very common. 

Illustrative Hand No. 37 is a good illustration of 
combining the discard of losing cards with the making 
of losing trumps. By leading through A's diamonds, 
Z is able to get rid of a losing spade. He can then 
ruff a diamond and lead a spade without having to 
take any finesse in that suit, ruffing it out instead. The 
student should observe that B's discard of his weak 
suit in this hand cost him the slam. 

-Sometimes, although the trump lead looks tempt- 
ing, it will be found that there are more tricks in the 
hand by playing for a cross ruff. Take this position, 
clubs trumps: 

Dummy*s. Dealer's. 

^2 ^76543 

♦ Kled. *AKQJ *1097 

♦Q732 ♦A962 

After trumping the second round of diamonds, 
there is nothing to be gained by leading trumps, even 
if you catch them all, because the K, J, 10 of spades 
and all the red cards are against you. To lead trumps 
would simply make all those cards good for tricks in 
the hands of the adversaries. Lead a heart, and what- 



Illustrative Hand No. 37 

Making losing trumps before leading trumps, 
deals. Y calls Hearts. A leads. 



IF K 7 6 

* 9 8 3 
4 Q109 3 
^ 107 4. 



V A Q J 9 2 

♦ 

♦ K J 7 4 

♦ A Q 5 2 




V 4 3 

* A KQ J 
4 6 5 2 

♦ K 8 6 3 



TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


3 ♦ 


4 


5 ♦ 


A 4 


3 


9 4 


J ♦ 


2 ♦ 


8 4 


3 


lO ^ 


K ♦ 


6 4 


9 # 


4 


Q ♦ 


7 4 


3 4k 


<^ 5 


5 


4 4^ 


A ♦ 


6 4|b 


J 4k 


6 


7 ♦ 


2 ^ 


K # 


V 8 


7 


^ 6 


V J 


V 3 


V lO 


8 


^ 7 


IP A 


V 4 


* 2 


9 


^ K 


¥ 9 


8 4k 


* 4 


10 


* 9 


V 2 


4k J 


* 5 


11 


lO # 


Q ♦ 


* Q 


♦ 6 


13 


* 3 


5 4|k 


* K 


* 7 


13 


* 8 


fFQ 


* A 


4k lO 



The dealer makes a little slam. 



226 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

ever the adversaries do next, do not let go of the lead 
until you have made all your trumps separately by the 
cross ruff on the red suits. 

It is usually good policy for the adversaries, when 
they see the dealer avoids leading trumps, to lead them 
themselves, because it must be to his disadvantage to 
play trumps, and if the adversaries lead them they will 
probably defeat his scheme, whatever it is. 

Illustrative Hand No. 38 is an example of a hand 
in which the dealer has nothing for which to lead 
trumps, having no established suit, so he plays to make 
his trumps separately by cross ruffing. The only way 
in which he can be sure of getting the seesaw is by 
exhausting his own diamonds before he takes the lead. 
If the dealer leads trumps in this hand he loses two 
by cards. 

Sometimes, although you intend to lead trumps, it 
is unwise to do so immediately, because the lead is in 
the wrong hand. The lead should alwa^^s be from the 
weak hand to the strong, and with that principle in 
mind such positions as the following will be at once 
apparent. Hearts are trumps: 

Dummy's. Dealer's. 

^AQJ73 ^842 

# K led. *^? *AK42 

^Q5 aA632 

♦ AJ64 #75 

If dummy, after winning the first trick with the 



Illustrative Hand No. 38 

Not leading trumps when j^ou have no suit made 
up. Z deals. Y calls Hearts. A leads. 



^76 
A K104< 
♦ K Q J S 5 
♦ K 8 5 



fF A Q10 4 2 

* 2 

♦ 9 7 6 

# AI04- 2 



B 



<^ 5 3 

* A Q 9 7 3 
♦ A 2 

# Q 9 6 3 



V K J 9 8 
* J 8 6 5 

i 104 3 
<► J 7 



TKICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


K # 


6 4 


3 


4 


2 f 


3 


J ♦ 


7 4 


4- 


♦ 


A ^ 


3 


* 4 


* 2 


* 5 




* A 


4: 


« lO 


V 2 


* 6 




« 3 


5 


5 4 


9 ♦ 


lO 


♦ 


^ 3 


6 


Jh K 


V 4 


* 8 




* 7 


7' 


5 # 


A ^ 


7 


4^ 


3 41 


8 


K ^ 


2 4k 


J 


^ 


Q ♦ 


9 
10 


^ 7 
8 4|k 


# A 
lO ^ 


^ 8 
W 9 




^ 5 
6 4k 


11 


V 6 


^lO 


* J 




4k Q 


12 


8 ♦ 


4- 4» 


V J 




9 4k 


13 


Q ♦ 


m Q 


<9 K 




* 9 



The dealer wins two by cards. 



228 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



spade ace, leads trumps from his own hand, either the 
K or lo of trumps must make, perhaps both of them. 
But if the dealer puts himself in with a club and leads 
trumps from his hand, he may catch the K of trumps 
by finessing the J the first time and, if the J wins, put- 
ting himself in with another club so as to finesse 
dummy's Q the second time. 

Illustrative Hand No. 39 shows a very similar posi- 
tion. The dealer does not take any finesse in clubs, 
but makes sure of getting the lead, so as to take the 
finesse in trumps, after which he establishes a trick in 
diamonds. It will be observed that A returns the 
diamond instead of establishing a trick in spades for 
Z, as he knows by B's down-and-out echo that Z 
holds all the remaining spades. 

Sometimes it is necessary to take advantage of the 
opportunity to lead a plain suit before leading trumps, 
because the chance to lead the suit from the right hand 
cannot possibly occur again. For instance, hearts 
trumps : 

Dummy's. Dealer's. 

^743 f^ A K106 2 

4 K led. * ^ ^ 5 * A Q 

^ 4A63 484 

♦8532 ♦KQJ4 

Dummy wins the first trick with the diamond ace. 
It is evident that he can never take another trick, 
consequently he will never be in the lead again. If 



Illustrative Hand No. 39 

Getting the lead into the right hand to play trumps. 
Z deals. Y calls Hearts. A leads. 



fF K 4 2 

Jk Q103 2 

♦ A J 

♦ A Q J 2 




TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


A # 


6 ^ 


7 ♦. 


3 4|k 


a 


Q ♦ 


Jk 4 


5 ♦ 


K 4 


3 


♦ 2 


V J 


^ 8 


¥ 5 


4: 


A 2 


A 8 


4b 6 


A K 


5 


V 4 


V Q 


V lO 


V 7 


6 


V K 


¥ A 


2 ♦ 


V 6 


7 


A 4 


K 4 


5 <^ 


4 ♦ 


8 


J ♦ 


Q 4 


6 ^ 


4 # 


9 


2 # 


lO # 


7 ♦ 


8 ^ 


10 


A 3 


* 5 


* 7 


* A 


11 


J ♦ 


3 ♦ 


A 9 


lO # 


13 


4b \o 


9 3 


8 ♦ 


4b J 


13 


* Q 


^ 9 


9 ♦ 


9 4k 



The dealer wins the game on the hand. 



230 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



trumps are led now, the dealer must eventually lead 
away from his A, Q of clubs, which is certain to make 
the K good for a trick. It is better to lead the club 
from dummy's hand now, and take the finesse while 
there is the chance. 

Illustrative Hand No. 40 is an example of another 
use for trumps, ruffing out suits with them, so as to 
get the suit established. On the first trick Z dis- 
cards a diamond, which is of no use to him while 
there are equally good cards in the dummy and more 
of them. By leading spades, instead of trumps, the 
dealer compels the adversaries either to establish the 
diamond suit for him or to let him ruff out the spade 
suit by trumping clubs. Whether B returns a club 
or a diamond does not matter. 

The student can test these principles by putting 
down on a slip of paper opposite the numbers of the 
following test hands, the line of play that he would 
adopt in each, afterward comparing his reasoning with 
that given in the key. Hearts are trumps in each 
case, and the first hand given is the dummy's, the sec- 
ond is the dealer'so 



Illustrative Hand No. 40 

The dealer ruffing out suits, instead of leading 
trumps. Z deals and calls Hearts. A leads. 



^ KQ107 2 
^ A 6 5 4 . 
♦ K J 9 




TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


4k K 


Jk A 


* 3 


Q 


3 


9 ^ 


2 4k 


Q 4k 


3 4k 


3 


A 2 


* 5 


* 8 


4 


4: 


J ♦ 


6 


lO 4k 


4 4k 


5 


A 


2 ^ 


3 


K 


6 


* Q 


* 6 


* 4 


^ 5 


7 


K ♦ 


# 7 


A 4k 


5 4k 


8 


* 7 


* J 


8 


: lO 


9 


4 ., 


^ A 


7 ^ 


6 4k 


10 


5^ 


J 


8 :, 


7 4k 


11 


64 


lO 


2 


^^ Q 


13 


W 9 


* 9 


3 


J^ K 


13 


4i* lO 


9 


> J 


8 4k 



The dealer wins the game on the hand, 



232 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



Test Hands for the Dealer 



4 lO led. 



A 7 led. 



4 4 led, 



No. 83. 








^ AK J G 


5 


W 


7 3 2 


* 9 6 5 




« 


A Q J 4 3 


♦ A 




♦ 


Q 8 2 


♦ K 6 5 3 




^ 


Q4. 


No. 84. 








^ A e 5 




^ 


Q J 104 3 2 


♦ A 6 




A 


K 4 3 


♦ J 7 6 3 




f 


A Q 2 


^ A Q102 




4k 


4 


No. 85. 








¥ K Q J 9 


8 7 3 


m 


104 2 


4 K 2 




A 


A Q 9 


♦ A 




♦ 


KQ5 


♦ 852 




4 


107 4 3 



IMPORTANCE OF THE -SCORE 

After the declaration, and the lead of the first card, 
the dummy's hand is laid down, and the dealer is not 
allowed any further help from his partner. Whatever 
is to be made out of the two hands he must make him- 
self. 

The first thing to do is to look at the score, in order 
to fix in your mind how many tricks are necessary to 
win the game, if it can be won; or to save it, if it 
is in danger. 

Never forget the score. 

The beginner cannot learn too early the habit of 
counting up the value of the combined hands before he 
plays a card. Sort out these two hands, the declara- 
tion being a heart, at the score of love-all; that is, 
nothing scored on either side. 

Dummy's. Dealer's. 

^K87 ^AQ652 

^ K led. *A8653 *J4 

♦ 10 87 ♦Qje 

♦ Q 6 ♦ A J 8 

It is always advisable to lay out the actual cards 
for these examples. It may take a little more time, 
but nothing impresses the principle of an example like 

233 



234 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

seeing the actual cards on the table, or holding them in 
the hand. 

If you will count up the certain tricks in these two 
hands, you will find only six. The A of clubs, two 
tricks in spades, and three in trumps. That is all that 
are certain, because there may be five trumps in one 
hand against you. But even if there are, you must 
make either two tricks in spades or an extra trick in 
trumps. Think this over, with the cards in front of 
you, until you see the point. 

In order to get even the odd trick out of these 
hands, you must make more than three tricks in 
trumps, or more than one in clubs, or a trick in dia- 
monds. It is impossible to get more than two in 
spades, as you will understand if you have mastered 
the principles of second hand play which the adver- 
saries will adopt against you. 

Illustrative Hand No. 41 is a good example of this 
planning of the scheme of the hand in advance; seeing 
what must be done before starting to do anything, 
without which one will never be a good bridge player. 
It is the secret of success in getting just enough to win 
games. 

In this hand the dealer sees that in order to win the 
game with his cards he must not only make a success- 
ful finesse in clubs, to prevent the king from making, 
but he must get two tricks in diamonds, therefore he 
does not win the first trick, but lets the lead come 



Illustrative Hand No. 41 

Counting up the tricks possible and those necessan/, 
Z deals and calls Hearts. A leads. 





« 7 






4 A Q10 6 






♦ 8 5 4 




♦ K 6 4 3 


2 




V8 5 4 


Y 




^ J 10 6 


* K 5 4 2 






* 8 7 


♦ K Q lO 9 


A B 




♦ 7 6 2 


♦ 10 9 


Z 




♦ AQ8 


i 


ITA KQ 9 


3 




A 


k J 9 3 
♦ A J 3 




i 


k J 7 







TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


K 


4 i 


2 


3 


2 


9 


^ ♦ 


6 


J ^ 


3 


A 2 


4^ lO 


* 7 


* .J. 


4 


4 


7 


; 2 


" Q 


5 


5 


2 i|^ 


•3P 6 


K 


6 


^8 


3 ^ 


^lO 


A 


7 


lO ' 


8 * 


7 


A 


8 


* 4 


* 6 


* 8 


* 9 


9 


* 5 


* Q 


J 


* 3 


10 


9 « 


4 # 


A ♦ 


7 ^ 


11 


lO 4^ 


K ^ 


5 4)k 


J ♦ 


13 


* K 


A A 


8 4^ 


-p 3 


13 


Q ^ 


6 4ib 


Q ♦ 


^ 9 



The dealer wins the game on the hand. 



236 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

up to his tenace, A, J. This holding ofE with the A 
and J in the fourth hand is called the Bath Coup. He 
then tries the finesse in clubs, and after finding that 
the cards lie right for him he draws all the trumps but 
the J. The student should observe that it is very im- 
portant for the dealer to make his ace of diamonds 
before continuing the clubs, to prevent B from putting 
him in with a diamond and forcing him to lead spades. 
The manner in which the dealer keeps the lead in 
clubs in his own hand, so as to go through the king 
several times, should be noted. All these little de- 
tails are essential to make the number of tricks indi- 
cated by the state of the score. 

Let us take an example of a no-trumper, the score 
being love-all: 

Dummy's. Dealer's. 

4 Kled. * KJ 82 * AQ105 

4 10 9 5 4 A 8 7 2 

♦ Q 9 3 ♦ J 2 

If you will count up the certain tricks in these 
cards, you will find only seven in the combined hands; 
four in clubs, one in hearts and two in diamonds. 
There must be two in diamonds, because the A and 8 
must both make if the adversaries go on with the suit. 
But where are the two more tricks which are neces- 
sary to win the game at the score? There is a chance 
to make a trick in spades, but only if the adversaries 



Illustrative Hand No. 42 
Counting up the possibilities of the hand. Z deals. 
Y calls no trump. A leads. 



f^ A 8 





* A KQ4 






♦ Q6 3 






4 


. AQ J 7 




^ J 9 7 6 5 3 




Y 


V K 2 


4k 9 8 3 




A B 


* 10 5 


4 K5 




4 A J 108 7 2 


♦ 10 6 




Z 


♦ 8 3 2 




m 


Q104 






♦ J 7 6 2 






494 






# 


K9 5 4 





TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


. 6 


1^ A 


V 2 


V 4 


2 


* 3 


A A 


« 5 


« 2 


3 


* 8 


* K 


♦ 10 


A 6 


4: 


* 9 


* Q 


2 4 


A 7 


5 


6 # 


* 4 


7 i 


A J 


6 


10 ♦ 


J ♦ 


2 4|b 


4 # 


7 


^ 3 


A # 


3 4|b 


5 4|k 


8 


^^? 5 


Q ♦ 


8 « 


9 # 


9 


-^ 7 


7 # 


8 4 


K # 


10 


^ J 


^^ 8 


^ K 


V 10 


11 
13 


K 

5 


3 # 
6 i 


10 4 


4 
9 4 


13 


m 9 


Q ♦ 


A ♦ 


♦ Q 



The dealer wins the game on the hand, 



238 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

lead the suit. You cannot make that trick yourself 
and you cannot compel them to play spades for you. 
There is a chance for two more tricks in hearts if you 
can catch the king; one more if you cannot. This 
shows you that the whole play of the hand depends 
on catching the king of hearts or coaxing the adver- 
saries to lead spades. 

Illustrative Hand No. 42 shows how necessary it 
is to count up the hands before playing a card from 
dummy. The dealer sees at once that four tricks in 
clubs and four in spades, with the ace of hearts, gives 
him the game to a certainty. Although apparently 
guarded in every suit, there is no necessity to let the 
heart lead com.e up to the Q in the fourth hand, be- 
cause that extra trick is not needed. If the dealer 
attempts it, he will lose the odd trick, because B will 
take the only chance there is on his cards and lead a 
small diamond. 

One very useful point in connection with this count- 
ing up the tricks possible and comparing them with 
those necessary is, that it fixes the attention upon the 
suit in which any extra tricks can be made, if they 
can be made at all. This is called " elimination," be- 
cause it eliminates from your mind any thoughts or 
Vv'^orries about the suits in which nothing can be accom- 
plished, concentrates your whole attention on one 
suit, and reduces the problem of how to play the hand 
to its simplest elements. Nothing is so disheartening 



IMPORTANCE OF THE SCORE 239 

as to sit opposite a partner who staggers blindly 
through a hand, trying first this suit and then that, 
with no idea of what can be done, and no attention to 
the emergencies of the case suggested by the score. 

The score is, of course, just as important to the 
adversaries as to the dealer, but their play is not so 
much in any previous planning of the hand as it is in 
saving the critical trick when the game is in danger. 
The third trick in a diamond call, or the fourth in 
hearts, or the fifth at no trump, are all vital, when the 
score is at love-all. Once the game is safe, the ad- 
versaries can take a chance to make an extra trick or 
two, but to risk the tricks first is usually bad policy. 
As already pointed out, B should have saved the game 
at the seventh trick in Illustrative Hand No. i, by 
playing his ace of spades. He did not realise the 
possibility of the dealer's winning every other trick, 
however. 



THE DEALER'S PLAY 

At No Trump 

We come now to the most interesting part of bridge 
tactics, the dealer's management of a no-trumper. The 
largest losses at bridge are undoubtedly made by bad 
declarations, because an unsafe make may lose a hun- 
dred points or more in a single deal; but, after the 
declaration, the greatest danger of losing large numbers 
of points is in the bad management of no-trumpers. 

The first point for the dealer is to play his own 
suits, and not the adversaries'. Many beginners, on 
finding they have winning cards in the suits first 
opened, play them out, which is a very serious fault, 
because it is clearing up the adversaries' suit for them 
instead of establishing a suit of their own. Take this 
position at no trump : 

Dummy's. Dealer's. 

^742 ^AK8 

*5 led. *10^ *^»^^ 

♦87643 fKOS 

♦AQJ ♦8753 

Upon winnmg the first trick with the J, do not 
go on with the clubs simply because you have winning 
cards in that suit ; because after your high cards are out 

240 



THE DEALER'S PLAY 241 

of the way, the leader's smaller clubs will all be good 
for tricks, and he may have six or seven of them. 

Occasionally you will find yourself stronger in a suit 
than the player that opens it; so much stronger that 
you might safely call it your suit and not his. For 
example : 

Dummy's. Dealer's. 

^A 10 984 ^J7 

f 5 led. ♦ K ^ * A Q 2 

♦ 7653 ♦AK42 

♦53 ^AQJ^ 

If you will look at these two hands a moment, you 
must see that the heart suit is better than any other 
you hold. The three clubs and two diamonds you can 
make at any time, and the spades should be led from 
dummy's hand, so as to give you the advantage of a 
finesse. In such positions as this, it is good play to 
return the adversaries' suit once at least. 

When there is no inducement to continue the ad- 
versaries' suit, there are still three suits to choose from, 
and upon the soundness of the principles on which this 
selection is made, much of the player's success will 
depend. 

Holding Up the Command 

Instead of taking up the adversaries' suit and play- 
ing it yourself, it is sometimes advisable to let them 
play it for awhile without interference. 



242 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

If you have a chance to win the first or second 
trick with an inferior card, such as a Q or K, you 
should do so while you can, or you may lose it; but 
with certain combinations of cards you may hold off. 
The most common situation has already been men- 
tioned, when you hold A, J and the K is led. This 
play is unnecessary when the J is in the dummy and 
the A in the dealer's hand, because if the J has two 
guards it is good for the second round in any case, 
the Q being on dummy's right. 

In a no-trumper, it is often very important, if you 
have the ace of the adversaries' long suit, to hold it up 
until the third hand has no more of the suit to lead 
to his partner. This is especially necessary when you 
have no suit of your own in which you can win a num- 
ber of tricks without letting either or both adversaries 
into the lead while you are establishing them. 

Illustrative Hand No. 43 is an example of this 
position. The dealer sees that he will have to finesse 
the club suit, and he also sees that if B has the K, 
all the hearts will make if B still has a heart to lead, 
therefore Z lets the hearts run until he sees B is ex- 
hausted. B adopts the same tactics, holding up the 
command of the clubs until Z has no more to lead, 
because he sees that dummy has no re-entry card, and 
cannot make his clubs unless Z has three of the suit. 
On the second round, B must win the trick or he will 
lose his K. He then leads up to dummy's weakness. 



Illustrative Hand No. 43 

Holding up the command of adverse suits. Z deals 
and calls no trump. A leads. 



V KQ J 6 3 

* 9 4 

4 K 9 5 

♦ 9 8 6 




^ 108 5 

* K 6 2 

# J 104 2 
^ A103 



TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


V K 


V 2 


^i? 8 


'■w 7 


3 


^ J 


V 4 


^ lO 


^ 9 


3 


i?- 6 


2 ^ 


5 


A 


4 


* 4 


* 3 


* 2 


* Q 


5 


* 9 


4k lO 


* K 


* 5 


6 


5 


6 


J ♦ 


A 4 


7 


6 <^ 


4- ^ 


3 ^ 


K 4|b 


8 


8 ^ 


5 ^ 


A ^ 


Q ♦ 


9 


9^ 


8 V 


2 -y 


3 ♦ 


10 


K 


* 7 


44 


74 


11 


Q 


* 8 


* 6 


7 # 


13 


3 


* J 


104 


Q<J 


13 


9 ^ 


^ A 


\0 4^ 


J ♦ 



A-B win two by cards. 



244 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

The student should observe that B's discard of the 
diamond lO enables Z to keep the right cards at the 
end, otherwise he would have been in an awkward 
position. 

It is never necessary to refuse to win the first trick 
in the adversaries' suit if you are sure of winning an- 
other trick in it later on. Suppose the opening lead 
comes up to A, Q in your hand. You should win the 
first round and start your own suit, because you still 
have a " stopper " in the adversaries' suit. 

Another situation in which it is not necessary to hold 
up is when you have a good suit to play for. Take 
such a position as this at no trumps: 

Dummy's. Dealer's. 

^75 ♦ A 4 3 

^ K led. *^2 *AKJ876 

♦ QJ4.32 fAK 

♦AJ65 ^02 

You can win the game to a certainty by taking the 
first trick, making two diamonds in your own hand, 
playing the spade ace in dummy whether the K goes 
up second hand or not, and making three more dia- 
monds, finally winning at least two more tricks with 
the A, K of clubs. 

Keeping the Lead 

It is often not only important to keep the lead in 
your own hand or dummy's until you have made all 



Illustrative Hand No. 44 

Keeping the lead in the right hand for finessing, 
deals. Y calls no trump. A leads. 



^ 109 

♦ K 8 7 6 

♦ K J 109 2 

♦ 76 




^ KQ J 8 7 6 

JH 5 3 

♦ 8 

♦ Q J 9 8 



TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


lO ♦ 


4 ♦ 


8 ^ 


Q ^ 


3 


* 6 


* lO 


* 3 


4 J 


3 


* 7 


* 4 


* 5 


« 9 


4: 


* 8 


* Q 


^ 6 


* 2 


5 


* K 


* A 


f^ 7 


3 t 


6 


6 ♦ 


A ♦ 


8 ♦ 


2 ♦ 


7 


7 ♦ 


K ♦ 


9 ♦ 


3 ♦ 


8 


2 ♦ 


5 ♦ 


J ♦ 


4 ♦ 


9 


^ 9 


^ 3 


^ K 


V 2 


10 


^ lO 


^ A 


^ 8 


V 4 


11 


9 ♦ 


A ♦ 


^ Q 


5 ♦ 


12 


J ♦ 


lO ♦ 


Q ♦ 


'f 5 


13 


K # 


6 ♦ 


V J 


7 ♦ 



The dealer wins the game on the hand, 



246 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

the tricks you can, but to keep the lead in one of the 
two hands and not in the other. This is especially 
true when you are leading through one of the adver- 
saries and wish to continue to lead through him until 
his high cards are caught. 

Illustrative Hand No. 44 is an example of a very 
common position, which the student should be thor- 
oughly familiar with. 

The dealer knows that his Q will win the first trick 
if the lead is from K, J, 10. By the usual process of 
elimination he finds that the only suit in which there 
is any playing to be done is the club, and his objec- 
tive point in that suit is to catch the K, no matter how 
well guarded it may be in A's hand. If it is not in 
A's hand, of course it cannot be caught. The same 
tactics were adopted by the dealer in Hand No. 41. 
In discarding, B must keep two guards to his Q, J 
of spades, or dummy will make a trick with the 10. 

It may be observed in passing that some players 
would have called spades on the dealer's cards. It is 
also worthy of notice that unless Z plays the clubs as 
he does, dummy will be forced into the lead on the sec- 
ond round, and the K in A's hand will save the game, 
even against a hundred aces, because there is no way 
of getting Z into the lead to come through again. 



THE DEALER'S PLAY 247 

Selecting the Suit to Play For 

The correct selection of the suit to play for at no 
trumps is often important, and the principles govern- 
ing it should be thoroughly mastered. 

Suppose the following to be the distribution of the 
cards : 

Dummy's. Dealer's. 

VQ 4 V A 6 2 

V7led *A763 *543 

♦ A K 4 4^ Q107 3 2 

♦AQ73 ♦K2 

The Q second hand is the best chance to win two 
tricks in the suit. Let us suppose it holds the trick, 
leaving you still with a stopper in the adversaries' suit. 
To go on with hearts is out of the question and there 
is nothing in clubs. This eliminates two suits, and 
brings your choice down to diamonds or spades. As 
you have only six spades between the two hands, one 
adversary must have four of the remaining seven, and 
if you make your three spade tricks now you must in- 
evitably establish at least one spade trick against your- 
self. If you play the diamonds, in which suit the ad- 
versaries have only five cards, it is quite probable that 
you will drop them all in three leads; therefore the 
diamond is the better suit to play for. 

The reason for this selection is very simple. The 
more cards you have in a suit yourself, the less the 
adversaries have, and therefore the less chance of their 



248 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

making tricks in it. As a general rule, therefore, the 
dealer should always select the suit in which he has 
the most cards between the two hands, his own and 
the dummy's. 

Illustrative Hand No. 45 is about as extreme an ex- 
ample of the application of this rule as one is likely to 
meet with. But if the dealer makes his spades as soon 
as he gets in, his clubs are worthless. By playing the 
clubs, which are the longest suit between the two 
hands, he must establish them, being able to get in on 
all the other suits. It will be observed that he is care- 
ful to play the higher cards first from the short hand. 
The student will see that if dummy plays the diamond 
J second hand to the first trick and tries the finesse in 
hearts, A establishes his diamonds at once, and all that 
the dealer can make is two heart tricks and four spade 
tricks, which, with the two diamond tricks, do not win 
the game. 

A's play, in winning the second round of his suit 
and then establishing it, is always safer than letting 
the second round go, as the third round may never 
come. 

Sometimes the number of cards in two different 
suits is equal. For example: 

Dummy's. Dealer's. 

9 V A 3 2 

♦ 6 led. *J108 43 2 *KQ 

41094.3 fKQJ2 

♦ J 10 2 #0654 



Illustrative Hand No. 45 

Selecting the suit to play for at no trump. Z deals 
and calls no trump. A leads. 







^ 


J 10 7 












A 9 8 6 5 4 2 










♦ Q J 3 








K9 6 3 


# 


J 




9 




m 




Y 




8 5 2 


A 


Q J 








A 


A K 


♦ 


A109 7 4 




A B 




4 


8 6 


♦ 


8 4 




Z 




4(k 


9 7 6 




fP 


A Q 4 










A 10 7 3 










♦ K 5 2 










♦ 


A KQIO 









5 3 2 



TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


7 ♦ 


3 1^ 


6 f 


K ♦ 


a 


A J 


* 2 


^ K 


A lO 


3 


A ♦ 


J ♦ 


8 ♦ 


2 ♦ 


4 


4 ♦ 


Q ♦ 


2 # 


5 ♦ 


5 


* Q 


A 4 


* A 


A 3 


6 


* 3 
^ 6 


V 7 

* 8 


V 8 

V 2 


^ A 

* 7 


8 


4 4|k 


* 9 


^ 5 


^ 4 


9 


8 Hb 


* 6 


3 4k 


^ Q 


10 


^ 9 


* 5 


5 4k 


lO 4k 


11 


9 ♦ 


J ♦ 


6 4k 


Q 4k 


13 


lO ♦ 


9 lO 


7 4k 


A 4k 


13 


^ K 


^ J 


9 4k 


K 4k 



The dealer wins four by cards. 



250 



COMPLETE BRIDGE 



In this position, observe that if you play a small 
card second hand from dummy, letting the lead come 
up to your Q, it will not do you much good for youj 
Q to win the trick, as the A and K of the suit will 
easily pick up your J and lO in the dummy. But if 
you play the lo second hand and it holds, the suit is 
still effectually stopped. This is one of the second 
hand plays that needs a little thought. 

To continue spades is out of the question, and the 
hearts cannot be led, as dummy has none. As between 
clubs and diamonds, there are eight cards of each suit 
between the two hands. But if you play the diamonds 
you must lose a trick to the ace, and three tricks is the 
most possible in the suit for you; whereas if you start 
the clubs and force out the ace, five tricks are possible. 
Therefore, when the number of cards is equal, play 
for the suit which has the greater number in one hand. 

Sometimes the number and distribution are both 
equal, as in the following position: 

Dummy's. Dealer's. 

1PQ J 103 2 ¥ 6 5 4 

^ 5 led. *J54 *KQ732 

♦ Q 3 2 4 A 8 

♦ Q 3 ♦ A10 6 

Never play the singly guarded Q when you have 
both A and lo in your own hand. Let us suppose that 
third hand plays the J, forcing your A, and that you 
are in the lead. If you let the spades alone, you must 



THE DEALER'S PLAY 251 

make another trick in that suit, no matter how the 
adversaries manage it. You cannot accomplish any- 
thing in diamonds, and your choice lies between hearts 
and clubs. 

If you start the hearts, you must lose two tricks in 
the suit before you get it cleared, and in the meantim^e 
the adversaries will have cleared their spades. In 
clubs, you lose only one trick before establishing the 
suit, therefore you should play that suit first. As a 
rule, always play for the suit which is more easily 
established, other things being equal. 

One of the great advantages of the dealer in bridge 
is that his own hand is concealed; not that the 
dummy's is exposed. This advantage should be main- 
tained as long as possible. Take this position at no 
trumps : 

Dummy's. Dealer's. 

^ Q 3 f^ K 4 2 

^ 8 led. * Q 4 2 * A 5 

♦ 973 ♦AKJeS 

♦K9743 ^AJ2 

As the cards lie, if you do not play the Q second 
hand, anything will force j^our K, and the A will be 
certain to pick up dummy's Q next time, because it 
will be unguarded. If 5^ou are attentive, you can infer 
that the A is on your left, because the Eleven Rule 
tells you that there is only one card on your right 
higher than the 8, which cannot be the A, or the 



252 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

leader must have held J, lo, 9, 8, from which he 
would have led the J. 

Let us suppose dummy's Q holds the first trick. 
Your choice of suits lies between diamonds and spades, 
and there is nothing to choose apparently, as either 
hand can bring in its suit. But there is one great dif- 
ference, and it is one that should never be lost sight 
of by the dealer. The adversaries know that you have 
a great spade suit, because they can see the cards lying 
on the table, but they do not know anything about 
your diamonds. Not knowing in which suits you are 
strong, they will probably struggle to keep their hearts 
and guard the clubs, and, while you are leading 
spades, they will perhaps unguard the diamonds and 
let you make them all at the end. When other things 
are equal, always play for the suit that is shown on 
the table. 

In this case, lead a small spade and finesse the J. 
If it loses, your guarded heart K cannot be caught. 
On getting in again, run of? all the spades before you 
touch the diamonds. 

A m.oment's attention will sometimes show that a 
suit, which looks promising, cannot possibly be made. 
Suppose this is the position at no trumps : 

Dummy's. Dealer's. 

ir K J 1^ 5 4. 2 

^7 led. *J653 *AKQ 

♦85 ♦AKQSS 

♦K9542 ♦AS 



THE DEALER'S PLAY 253 



Holding K, J alone, second hand, nothing in the 
fourth hand, it is better to risk the K immediately at 
no trump, because to play the J gives the third hand 
two chances to win the trick, and it is unlikely that 
the eldest hand has led away from both A and Q. 
Suppose the K holds. The suit shown on the table is 
spades; but it is impossible to make more than two 
tricks in spades, no matter how you play. If you 
catch both Q and J you will find four to the 10 in the 
other hand. Under such circumstances, abandon all 
hope of making the small cards in such a suit. In this 
case, make all your club tricks first by putting dummy 
in with a spade after you have got rid of the A, K, Q 
of clubs yourself. After making the fourth club in 
dummy's hand, lead the diamonds, and even if you 
make only the A and K you win the game, but it is 
very likely that in their fear of the long spade suit the 
adversaries will have protected it and let go their 
diamonds, giving you several extra tricks in that suit. 

It is a good principle never to play for a suit in 
which you cannot make any extra tricks. 

Finessing 

One of the most common and also the most im- 
portant ways of getting extra tricks out of the cards 
is finessing. 

The adversaries of the dealer never finesse, except 



254 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

on such occasions as the pone sees a chance to avail 
himself of the Eleven Rule and hold the command 
over dummy. The dealer, on the contrary, is com- 
pelled to do a great deal of finessing, and much of 
his advantage is in knowing when he has the oppor- 
tunity, and on his good judgment in availing himself 
of it. 

The advantage of finessing lies in making inferior 
cards win tricks, owing to the position of the superior 
cards. The simplest example of a finesse is this: If 
you hold in one hand A, Q and in the other hand 
small cards only, it is obvious that if you lead from 
the A, Q hand, the A is the only sure trick, and that 
the K must make against you no matter on which 
side it lies. But if you lead from the weak hand to 
the A, Q, and play the Q the first time, you win two 
tricks if the K is on your left. If it is on your right, 
it must make, so your play does not matter. 

This shows that the great principle in all finessing 
is that you must always lead from the weak hand to 
the strong. That is, always lead to the hand that 
holds the higher cards. 

It is often necessary to take two finesses in the same 
Vv^ay in the same suit. For instance: 

In one hand, A Q J 7 3. In the other, 4 2. 

Lead the 4 and finesse the J. If it wins, do not lead 
the A, but get the short hand into the lead again on 



THE DEALER'S PLAY 255 

another suit if you can, and lead the 2, finessing the 
Q, after which the A will probably drop the K. 

If the A, Q, J are divided, it is usual to lead from 
the weaker hand to the stronger. For instance: 

In the one hand, A Q 6 3 . In the other, J 7 2 . 

If you lead the J, the K will cover if it is second 
hand. If it is not, you will lose .your J, so that there 
are only two tricks in the suit in either case. For 
this reason good players avoid such combinations as 
long as possible, hoping that the adversaries will be 
compelled to lead the suit. With A, Q, J, 10 be- 
tween the two hands, there is a decided advantage in 
the finesse. For instance: 

In the one hand, A J 6 4 . In the other, Q lO 3 . 

By leading the Q, and then the 10 if the Q wins, 
three tricks may be made, and four are possible if the 
K is on the left. 

When you have to finesse against two cards, you 
must take the chance that they are not both in the same 
hand. For example: 

In the one hand, A J lO 6 5 . In the other, 7 2 . 

Lead the 7 and finesse the 10. If it loses to either 
K or Q, lead the 2 next time, and finesse the J. If 
both K and Q are on your left, one will be played 
in second hand on the first trick, in which case, win 



256 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



it with the A, and lead the J, so as to force the other 
high card out of your way and clear the suit. 

There are several examples of this A, J, 10 finessing 
position in the Illustrative Hands. In No i, for in- 
stance, the dealer, Z, tries it in clubs and in hearts. 
No. 15 is another example of it. It does not much 
matter whether the 10 and J are in the same hand as 
the A or not, as the leader of the suit expects to lose 
one of the minor honours in any case. 

There are some cases in which no finesse should be 
attempted. With nine cards between the two hands, 
it is bad policy to finesse, the chance of catching the 
card finessed against being better. With the finessing 
position, however, such as the Q or J in one hand and 
the A, Q or A, J in the other, or both Q, J in the 
short hand, the high cards should be led from the 
weaker hand, on the chance that the K covers. If it 
does not cover, the A should usually be played. In 
such positions as this: 

In the one hand, A Q 7 5 4 . In the other, J 8 6 2 . 

Instead of finessing the J, play the A third hand if 
the K does not cover, on the chance of catching the K 
unguarded in the fourth hand. 

Again : 

In the one hand, A K J 8 5 3 . In the other, 9 4 2. 
Instead of finessing the J, play the A and K at once. 



TH£ DEALER'S PLAY 257 



In playing no-trumpers, the dealer should never 
finesse early in the hand when there is an entire suit 
against him, because if the finesse fails the adversaries 
get into the lead, and they v^ill almost certainly start 
the dangerous suit. Take this position at no trumps: 

Dummy's. Dealer's. 

fr A Q ¥ 8 6 4 

^ 5 led. *AK8652 AQJQ 

♦ Q 7 ♦ 6 2 

It would be foolish to finesse the Q of hearts, be- 
cause if the pone has the K he will certainly open the 
spade suit, in which you have no protection. By play- 
ing the ace of hearts and then makir^ all your clubs 
and two tricks in diamonds you make certain of the 
game before you lose the lead. 

When a finesse must be taken, put it off as long as 
possible. For instance: 

Dummy's. Dealer's. 

f^ 7 6 2 f? A 3 

^Kled. *AQ *107 6 2 

4Q64.2 ♦AKJS 

♦ 7432 ♦AKS 

After winning the first trick with the heart ace, do 
not try the finesse in clubs, because if it fails, you let 
in all the hearts. Make your four diamonds first and 
then put your hand in with a spade. By that time 
several hearts may have been discarded, and the suit 
will not be so dangerous. 



258 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

It is sometimes necessary to take strong measures 
for the sake of obtaining the position for a successful 
finesse, when the finesse is essential to winning the 
game. Illustrative Hand No. 46 is a good exam.ple of 
this. With eleven clubs between the two hands no 
finesse in that suit should be attempted ; but the finesse 
in trumps must be taken in order to win the game. 
The only way to obtain the lead for this finesse is to 
trump dummy's winning spades. If the hand is played 
over, it will be found that if the dealer discards on the 
spade Q, leaving the lead with dummy, A-'B must save 
the game by trumping the club, leading a diamond to 
dummy's weakness, and getting another ruff in clubs. 

The advantage of finessing in two different suits is 
very apparent in such hands as No. i. Another ex- 
ample of it will be found in Illustrative Hand No. 47. 
On counting up the tricks possible, and eliminating 
the suits that need no attention, the dealer sees that 
there is nothing in it but to hold off the first trick for 
the Bath coup, and then to finesse both the red suits 
by putting each hand into the lead alternately. His 
good fortune in finding both kings on the right side 
enables him to make a little slam. 

When the adversaries establish a suit against you, it 
is very important to keep the player who is long in the 
suit from getting into the lead again. This dangerous 
player is almost always on your left, and the suit you 
have to fear is the one first opened. One method of 



Illustrative Hand No. 46 

Getting lead position for trump leads and finesses, 
Z deals. Y calls Hearts. A leads. 



V K 9 3 
4k K 5 
♦ A Q 

^ K J 109 8 5 




V 7 4 

^ 

♦ K J 8 4 3 2 
^ 7 6 4 3 2 



TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


1 


lO ^ 


Q ♦ 


2 4|k 


W 2 


3 


9 3 


V lO 


W 4 


¥ 5 


3 

4: 


9 ^ 
V 9 


A # 
V J 


3 4^ 
V 7 


V 6 
# 8 


5 


V K 


V A 


2 ♦ 


5 4 


6 


4k 5 


* 2 


4 ♦ 


4k A 


T 


* K 


* 3 


6 # 


4k Q 


8 


A ♦ 


7 4 


3 4 


6 4 


9 


K ^ 


VQ 


7 4^ 


4k 9 


10 


5 # 


* 4 


4 ♦ 


4k J 


11 


8 ^ 


4k lO 


8 ♦ 


4k 7 


13 


J ♦ 


* 8 


J ♦ 


9 4 


13 


Q 4 


* 6 


K 4 


lo 4 



The dealer wins five by cards. 



26o COMPLETE BRIDGE 



keeping him out has already been explained: holding 
up the command until his partner is exhausted. After 
the pone is exhausted, there is no danger in allowing 
him to win tricks in other suits, provided the com- 
manding cards in those suits can be held over his 
partner. 

This is usually accomplished by finessing against 
the dangerous hand, as in the following position: 

Dummy's. Dealer's. 

V 10 2 ¥ A 6 5 

VKled AAQ10 43 *752 

♦Q75 ♦AK32 

♦754 ♦AKJ 

You pass the hearts until the third round, exhaust- 
ing the third hand. You then play clubs, simply 
covering any card that the player on your left may 
put on your lead. If the player on your right wins 
the trick, you can get in on anything he leads, without 
finessing, and lead another club. It does not matter 
if the player on your right makes both K and J of 
clubs, you must win the game if you keep the estab- 
lished heart suit out of the lead. 

False Cards 

The beginner should never attempt to play false 
cards when opposed to the dealer. Such tactics re- 
quire mature judgment and experience. The dealer, 
on the contrary, can employ them freely. 



Illustrative Hand No. 47 

Showing the advantage of finessing by the dealer. Z 
deals and calls Hearts. A leads. 



^53 

A KQ107 5 

♦ K108 

♦ 743 




^ K109 

♦ 98 

♦ 65 

♦ A K 9 8 5 2 



TRICK 
1 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


« K 


A 2 


* 9 


4k 6 


3 


* 7 


♦ 3 


* 8 


* J 


3 


8 ♦ 


J ♦ 


5 ^ 


2 ♦ 


4: 


<s» 3 


V 4 


V 9 


• J 


5 


lO ♦ 


Q ♦ 


6 ♦ 


4 ♦ 


6 


^ 5 


V 8 


V lO 


♦ Q 


7 


3 # 


V 7 


V K 


V A 


8 


K 4 


A ♦ 


2 4k 


9 ♦ 


9 


4 4|b 


7 ♦ 


5 4k 


6 4k 


10 


7 4k 


3 ♦ 


8 4k 


J 4k 


11 


A 5 


4k 4 


9 4k 


A A 


13 

13 


* lO 

* Q 


10 4k 
Q ♦ 


K 4k 

A 4k 


V 6 
^ 2 



The dealer makes a little slam. 



262 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



The principle on which the dealer false-cards from 
his own hand are very simple. If he wishes a suit to 
be led again, he may lead the adversaries to believe that 
he has not the best card of it, as by playing the K 
when he holds the Q and J also, or the A when he 
holds both A and K. If, on the contrary, he does not 
wish the suit led again, he can show his full strength, 
so as to convince the adversaries, if possible, of the 
uselessness of pursuing that suit. This is a common 
artifice when the dealer wishes to keep the high cards 
in his hand for purposes of re-entry later on. 

If any false cards are played by the adversaries, they 
should be in situations that cannot mislead the partner 
to his disadvantage. For instance, the dummy may 
have an A, J, lo suit, and the pone may have K, Q 
alone. When dummy finesses the lo on the first 
round, the pone may play the K, so as to lead the 
dealer to believe that the Q is in the other hand. On 
dummy's second finesse of the J, the lone Q will 
make. 

Discarding the guards to a K may be called false- 
carding, and is sometimes resorted to when it is evi- 
dent that the dummy will finesse the Q, but it should 
be done only when the other cards in the hand are 
all more valuable than the guard to the K. 



THE DEALER'S PLAY 263 

Underplay and Ducking 

Underplaying is holding up the command of the 
adversaries' suit so as to keep a certain player in the 
lead, or so as to exhaust his partner's power to return 
it. Ducking, on the contrary, is refusing to part with 
the command of your own suit, and is usually resorted 
to in situations in which no finesse is possible, but it 
is nevertheless evident that the adversaries must win 
one or two tricks in the suit. It is especially useful 
when one hand is short, and it is necessary to let the 
stronger hand in again while that hand still holds 
commanding cards. 

Take the following example of a no-trumper: 

Dummy's. Dealer's. 

98 ^ A J 4 3 

^ 5 led. *5^2 AAKe 

474.3 4AK52 

♦AK6542 #98 

Let us suppose that the J of hearts wins the first 
trick. The suit to play for is spades, but the A, K 
of that suit alone are not enough to win the game. 
To make any more tricks in spades, you must lose a 
trick, no matter how you play the suit. If you play 
the A and K at once, it is not only impossible to catch 
the Q, J and 10, because one of those cards must be 
twice guarded, but it is impossible to get dummy into 
the lead again. This makes it impossible for you to 



264 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

win the game on the hand, although you have four 
aces. 

You must play spades, because elimination shows that 
the extra trick is impossible in any other suit, and you 
must give the adversaries one trick in spades. Now, 
whenever you must lose a trick in a suit which you must 
play for, lose it at once. This is called '' ducking." 

In the example given, if a spade is led from the 
dealer's hand, and no attempt be made to win it in the 
dummy, no matter what the second hand plays, when 
the dealer gets into the lead again, he will still have 
a spade to lead, and if the spades do not all fall in the 
next two rounds, the game cannot be won by any 
method of play. 

The same tactics must be employed when the hand 
which is long in the suit is in the lead. Illustrative 
Hand No. 48 is an example. The dealer false-cards 
his K on the first trick, because he would like A to 
lead that suit again, and wishes him to think that B 
holds the Q. Y covers with the fourchette, as a mat- 
ter of form. The dealer sees that it is impossible to 
catch the K, Q, 10 of spades, so he ducks the suit by 
leading a small card. A trusts his partner for the 
Q of clubs and leads small again, but his play makes 
no difference, as Z has the suit stopped. Z is now 
compelled to duck the spade suit again, as the trey 
must guard either the K or the 10 against him. B, 
having no more clubs, leads up to dummy's weakness. 



Illustrative Hand No. 48 

Showing the advantage of *' ducking " unestablished 
suits. Z deals and calls no trump. A leads. 



^ J 8 4 2 





^ 


7 5 






^ 




♦ A J 108 3 


2 






# 


J 








^ K7 




Y 




f> 109 6 3 


♦ A 9 8 6 4 3 

♦ 764 




A B 






* J 2 

♦ K Q 9 5 


♦ Q3 




Z 






# K105 



♦ A987642 



TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


1 


* 6 


4k 7 


4k J 


4k K 


a 


Q ♦ 


J ♦ 


5 ^ 


2 4b 


3 


* 4 


* 5 


* 2 


4k lO 


4: 


3 ♦ 


2 ♦ 


lO 4^ 


4 4b 


5 


^ 7 


^ 2 


^ 3 


^ A 


6 


4 ♦ 


3 ♦ 


K 4k 


A 4b 


7 


6 ♦ 


8 ♦ 


1^ 6 


9 4b 


8 


7 ♦ 


lOf 


V 9 


8 4b 


9 


A 3 


J ♦ 


5 ♦ 


7 4b 


10 


* 8 


V 4 


9 ♦ 


6 4b 


11 


V K 


W 8 


W lO 


m 5 


13 


A A 


^ J 


Q ♦ 


4k Q 


13 


* 9 


A ♦ 


K ♦ 


V Q 



The dealer wins two by cards. 



266 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

Management of Re-entry Cards 

No matter how well you play to establish a suit, the 
small cards of it are of no value unless you can bring 
them into play. After the suit is cleared, the hand 
that holds it must get into the lead. Take this position 
at no trumps: 



5 led. 



Dummy*s. Dealer's. 

f^J53 fFKQ2 

AA8754.3 A 109 6 

4 lO ♦ A K 7 

♦ J85 ♦AQ42 



Dummy wins the first trick with the lo. The club 
suit is the one to play for, but the adversaries are cer- 
tain to make one trick in that suit, and unless the 
clubs are equally divided between them they will 
make two. As there is no card in dummy's hand but 
the club ace that will bring the suit into play, that card 
must be kept as a re-entry until the third round, and 
the first two rounds of the suit must be ducked. 

In considering the necessities for re-entry, it is often 
important to decide which hand shall win the first 
trick when either can do so. Take this position at no 
trumps : ; 

Dummy's. Dealer's. 

^ A 7 5 ^ K 4 

^Qled. ♦QJ *K109 8 7 42 

4 A Q J 2 4 106 3 

♦ A 9 8 4 ♦ 3 

The suit you are going to play for is clubs, and in 



Illustrative Hand No. 49 

Showing the dealer's management of re-entry cards. 
Z deals. Y calls no trump. A leads. 



ir K 9 5 4. 

♦ A 8 6 4 3 

♦ Q J 

♦ K 5 




V 7 2 

♦ K 7 5 

♦ 865 

♦ A 9 8 6 3 



TEICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


♦ 4 


4k 2 


* K 


* 9 


2 


A A 


A lO 


* 7 


A J 


3 


* 3 


* Q 


♦ 5 


2 « 


4: 


J ♦ 


K 4 


5 ♦ 


2 ♦ 


5 

6 


Q ♦ 

♦ 6 


A ♦ 

4 ♦ 


6 ♦ 
8 ♦ 


7 ♦ 
9 ♦ 


7 


W K 


V A 


^ 2 


^ Q 


8 


* 8 


3 ♦ 


3 4 


10 4 


9 


V 4 


V 6 


V 7 


V 8 


10 


^ 5 


vio 


6 41^ 


V 3 


11 


ir 9 


^ J 


8 41^ 


4 # 


13 


K 4 


J ♦ 


9 4|b 


7 4 


13 


5 4 


Q ^ 


A # 


lO ^ 



The dealer wins the game on the hand. 



268 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



order to save a re-entry in your own hand you must 
play dummy's ace of hearts on the first trick. 

With four cards of the same suit in each hand, it 
is often possible to make a re-entry in either hand, 
and sometimes two such re-entries can be arranged if 
the cards are strong. Illustrative Hand No. 49 is 
an example of this. 

The lead is in the wrong hand to start the hearts, 
which require a finesse, so the dealer plays to make 
his own diamonds re-entering cards. Instead of going 
on with the diamonds, Z leads hearts for the finesse, 
and A covers with the K and 9, which must make the 
9 good for a trick if Y has to lead. On the second 
round of hearts A does not cover, his only chance being 
that Z has no more hearts to lead, and that Y cannot 
afJord to overtake the 8. At the end, B knows that 
A must have a possible trick in spades, or he would not 
have discarded his clubs to keep his spades. 

It is often necessary to look well ahead in order 
to provide for re-entry cards that may be useful later 
in the hand. The chance to make a re-entry is often 
missed in the first trick or two, through want of a 
little attention to the situation before playing. 

Illustrative Hand No. 50 is a good example. 
Dummy will need two re-entries : one to clear his 
suit and one to bring it into play. Whether the dealer 
puts dummy in with a heart or a club after getting rid 
of the ace of diamonds, does not matter. When B 



Illustrative Hand No. 50 

Showing how the dealer can make re-entries, 
deals and calls no trump. A leads. 





W 


Q J 








* A 2 






♦ Q J 109 7 3 2 






♦ 


8 6 






V109 8 4 2 




Y 




7 6 5 


4 K106 








* J 8 7 3 


♦ 864 




A B 




* K 5 


♦ A 5 




Z 




♦ Q J 9 7 




9 


A K 3 








* Q 9 5 4 






t A 






♦ 


K104 3 2 







TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 


V 4 




V J 


V 6 


> A 


a 


4 


♦ 


2 4 


5 V 


A t 


3 


^ 2 




V Q 


¥ 7 


W 3 


4 


6 


♦ 


Q ♦ 


K 4 


A 4 


5 


A 


^ 


6 ^ 


Q ♦ 


K ^ 


6 


5 


^ 


8 # 


J ♦ 


2 # 


7 


8 


^ 


A 2 


7 # 


lO 4|k 


8 


8 




3 ♦ 


^ 5 


*? K 


9 


4 6 




« A 


Jk 3 


♦ 5 


10 


^ 9 




J ♦ 


* 7 


3 # 


11 


^lO 




lO ♦ 


4k 8 


4 # 


13 
13 


4k lO 
* K 




9 ♦ 

7 ♦ 


A J 

9 4^ 


4 9 
* Q 



The dealer wins four by cards. 



270 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



gets in he leads up to dummy's weak suit, and Z 
covers the lead with the imperfect fourchette. 

It is frequently a vital point for the dealer to pre- 
vent the adversaries from regaining the lead when 
there is any likelihood that they will open a suit in 
which he is not well protected. His cards may be 
such that if one player has the lead, no harm can come 
of it, but if the other gets in it may be fatal. 

Illustrative Hand No. 51 is an example of this 
position. The dealer is not afraid of the original 
leader, but the moment dummy's cards are laid down 
he sees the danger of the pone's leading diamonds 
through his singly guarded king. The whole play of 
the hand is arranged by the dealer to prevent this. If 
A leads diamonds, the king is safe; so it is B that 
must be kept out of the lead. 

On the first trick, the dealer sees that unless A is 
leading from a short suit, B has only one heart, and 
as that must be either K, Q or 10, he plays the ace 
from dummy to prevent any possibility of B's getting 
in on hearts and changing to diamonds. 

B's discards are interesting. If he lets go a club, 
his weak suit, on the hearts, he loses a trick. A leads 
to his partner's discard, beginning with the highest of 
the suit, so as to get out of his way. B cannot discard 
a spade, or the dummy's J may be good for re-entry. 
In the end game, the dealer wants four out of the 
last six tricks, and must lead a club so as to compel 



Illustrative Hand No. 51 

Preventing unguarded honours being led through. 
Z deals and calls no trump. A leads. 



9 K108 2 

♦ J 9 8 

♦ A 7 3 

♦ 964 




^ Q 

♦ 107 6 2 

♦ Q J 10 9 3 

♦ Q10 3 



TRICK 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 
2 


W 2 
* 8 


¥ A 
* 3 


V Q 
* 2 


1^ 5 
* A 


3 

4: 

5 
6 


^ 8 
4k 9 
V K 
A ♦ 


^ 9 
* 5 
V 3 
2 ♦ 


8 ♦ 
* 6 

9 4 

10 ♦ 


V 7 
4k K 
* 6 
5 ♦ 


7 


7 ♦ 


4 ♦ 


J ♦ 


K ♦ 


8 


« J 


6 ♦ 


* 7 


* O 


9 


^ lO 


W 4 


4k lO 


* 4 


10 


3 ♦ 


5 ♦ 


Q ♦ 


2 4k 


11 


9 # 


J ♦ 


3 ^ 


7 4k 


13 


4 4k 


♦ J 


lO 4k 


K 4k 


13 


6 ♦ 


8 # 


Q ♦ 


A 4k 



The dealer wins the game on the hand. 



272 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



the adversaries to lead spades. No matter what spade 
B leads, the dealer will pass it unless it is the Q. B 
leads the small card, because if A has an honour in 
spades, he can shut out dummy's established heart. 

If the hand is played over, it will be found that 
dummy's play of the ace on the first trick is the key 
to the whole hand, because if he passes, the dealer wins 
only the odd trick. 

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ 

The reader who wishes to test his skill in the man- 
agement of no-trumpers can write out the cards he 
would play in the following hands, and settle upon 
the reasons for playing them in a certain way. 

Test Hands for the Dealer 

In these, what card would you play to the first 
trick? They are all no-trumpers. First hand is 



dummy's. 


the othei 


■ yours: 

No. 86. 
^ A K 5 2 




^764 


4 loied. 




4k 8 3 

♦ A Q J 5 

# A103 

No. 87. 




♦ A 5 2 

♦ 104 3 2 

♦ Q4 2 ' 






^33 


W 


A J 4 


^ K led 




^ K 9 7 6 3 2 


4 


A Q 5 4 


^ fV i.WU» 




♦ Q 4 2 


♦ 


A J 10 7 3 






# A 2 


♦ 


6 



THE DEALER'S PLAY 



273 



In these, what would you play to the first trick 
and what would you lead next? 



V Q led. 



Q led. 



i 7 led. 



^ 6 led. 



No. 88. 






f^ K 5 4 




A 3 2 


* Q 8 5 3 




A 9 7 


♦ A Q4 




s 


# J 106 




A 9 5 4 3 2 


No. 89. 






^ K 7 4. 




A 9 3 2 


♦ 8 5 3 




A Q 9 4 2 


♦ 63 




K 5 


♦ AQ 5 3 2 




J 6 


No. 90. 






^ A 9 7 4 




6 3 


* A Q J 5 3 2 


4k 108 6 


♦ A 4 2 




K 5 


▲ 




A KQ J 4 3 


# 


No. 91. 






^ A J 3 




Q2 


4k 5 




K 8 2 


# Q J 8 3 2 




A K 6 5 


♦ Q 8 7 4 




A K 3 2 


No. 92. 






^954 




A K 


* Q J 107 6 5 




K 4 


♦ QIO 




A 8 6 4 3 2 


♦ J 2 




A108 


hat will you do 


next 


? 


No. 93. 






^ J 7 6 4 3 




A 10 


4k 9 4 




Q106 2 


♦ 9 8 7 3 2 




10 6 5 


♦ Q 




A108 4 



W Q led. 

If 4k K holds, 

V 5 led. 

If W 10 wins, how will you play the hand ? 



274 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



A 6 led. 



No. 94. 

^QJ9732 VAK 

♦ Q 5 * A 7 4 

♦ Q108 ♦ J 9 2 

♦ 95 ♦ A J 104 2 



If * Q wins, how will you play the hand ? 

In the following no-trumpers, what is the principal 
thing to be kept in view in managing the hand? The 
first cards given are the dummy's, the others are the 
dealer's. 



4 7 led. 



4 6 led. 



W 6 led. 



4 7 led. 



W K led. 



No. 95. 








IT A J 8 5 3 




K104 




* K4 2 




A 8 5 3 




♦ A 




Q 9 5 




# J 10 7 6 




A 5 2 




No. 96. 








V A 8 5 2 




K 6 




♦ AQ3 




K 5 2 




♦ AQ4 




7 2 




♦ Q J 7 




A108 5 


4 2 


No. 97. 








V A 8 




Q104 




* A KQ4 




J 7 6 2 




♦ J 6 3 


♦ 104 




♦ AQ J 7 




K 9 5 4 




No. 98. 








V 7 2 




K 8 5 4 




♦ 64 




A 8 7 5 


3 


♦ K J 10 




A 4 




♦ Q J 7 5 3 2 




A K 




No. 99. 








V 7 5 


¥ A 4 2 




♦ 43 




A K J 8 


7 6 


♦ Q 8 4 3 2 


♦ A K 




♦ A J 6 5 




Q2 





VARIETIES OF BRIDGE 

Bridge has not escaped the fate of other popular 
games in the matter of attempts to improve on the 
original. Some of the variations suggested have been 
for the purpose of accommodating fewer than the 
number of players required for the standard game, 
while others have been put forward with a view to 
eliminating the element of luck. The most popular 
departures from the usual method of playing and 
scoring have been in the arrangements for large num- 
bers of players, who enter into competition for prizes, 
either for charitable purposes or for social amusement. 

Auction Bridge 

In this variation of the game, instead of allowing 
the dealer to declare, each player in turn, beginning 
with the eldest hand, can bid for the privilege of the 
make. 

The usual process is to name the number of points 
that the player thinks he can win with his cards, with 
his partner's assistance, of course, but without naming 
the suit. Sometimes only trick points are bid; some- 
times honours and tricks combined, as may be agreed. 

The bidding is to the board; that is, the points bid 

275 



276 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

do not count to the credit of any player. The general 
rule is to allow each player only one bid, and the 
highest bid has the privilege of making the declaration. 
The successful bidder becomes the fourth hand on the 
first trick, just as if he had actually dealt the cards, and 
his partner's cards are laid on the table as soon as the 
eldest hand leads a card. 

This variety of the game may be played with either 
three or four players. 

Dummy Bridge 

This form of the game is resorted to when there are 
only three players to make up a table. There are 
several ways to play, but the following is the most 
popular and the simplest : 

The players cut for the first deal, the lowest having 
the choice of seats and cards. The next lower cut 
sits on the dealer's left. Ties are decided in the usual 
way. 

If the dealer will not declare from his own hand, 
he can pass the make to the dummy, in which case 
dummy must declare according to certain fixed rules. 
It is usual for the pone to sort dummy's cards and de- 
clare on them, so that the dealer shall not see two 
hands. 

With three or four aces, dummy must call no trumps, 
no matter what the rest of his hand may be. 



VARIETIES OF BRIDGE 



277 



If he has not at least three aces, he cannot call no 
trumps under any circumstances, but must declare his 
longest suit, no matter what it is. If two or more 
suits are of equal length, dummy must call the one 
which is stronger, the valuation being arrived at by 
counting the pips on the cards in each suit, reckoning 
the ace as 11, the court cards as 10 each, and all 
small cards at their face value. If the suits are still 
equal, the most expensive declaration must be selected, 
hearts being given the preference over diamonds, and 
clubs over spades. 

If it is found, upon the exposure of the dummy's 
cards, that the make has not been in accordance with 
the rules, the eldest hand may take back his lead and 
change it, if he wishes to do so. 

No one but the eldest hand may double, and no one 
but the dealer may redouble. Whether the dealer has 
declared from his own hand or not makes no difference. 
He has not seen dummy's cards, because the pone de- 
clares on them. This makes no difference to the pone, 
because he is not allowed to double or redouble. 

After the play of the hand is finished, if the dealer 
makes the odd trick, he scores whatever he is entitled 
to in the usual way, above and below the line, for tricks 
and honours respectively. But if he fails to get the 
odd trick, the adversaries score what they make, for 
tricks and honours combined, above the line, or all 
in the honour column. 



278 



COMPLETE BRIDGE 



No matter what trick points are made, no one but 
the actual dealer can score them below the line, be- 
cause the rule is that no player but the dealer can ad- 
vance his score toward winning the game. No matter 
how many tricks the adversaries of the dealer may win, 
the tricks do not advance their score toward game in 
any way, but are simply entered above the line, to 
enhance the value of the rubber. 

After the score is agreed to and put down, the 
player who was the pone moves into the vacant seat 
on his right, and the player who was his partner deals 
the next hand, declaring and scoring under the same 
conditions as before. After each deal, the player who 
was the pone on that deal always moves one place to 
the right, into the vacant seat. The following dia- 
gram will show the result of these three movements, 
after which a fourth change would bring about the 
original positions: 

C 




This shows that each of the three players, A, B, 
and C, has had the dummy once; has been opposed to 
the two other players once, and has had each of them 
for a partner once. 



VARIETIES OF BRIDGE 279 

The usual thirty points is a game, and the individual 
player first winning two games of thirty points or more 
is the winner of the rubber, adding 100 points bonus 
to his score. It is usual to keep each player's score in 
one column, above and below the line. 

After the conclusion of the rubber, the scores are 
added up and the lower deducted from the higher, each 
of the lower scores paying the difference to the higher 
scores. Suppose the totals of A, B, and C's scores to 
be respectively, 328, 172, and no. A wins 156 from 
B and 218 from C. C then pays B 62 points. This 
makes A's total gain 374 points, while B's losses are 
94, and C's are 280. 

Duplicate Bridge 

In this form of the game there must be at least two 
tables, and any number of tables may be filled. The 
old style of playing duplicate with one table, exchang- 
ing the hands after a certain number of deals, has long 
since been abandoned, as the recollection of the im- 
portant hands spoils the game. When played, it is 
called ^' memory duplicate." 

Square trays for holding the cards are provided, or 
folding pockets may be used. Each tray contains four 
pockets, one pocket being on the side opposite each 
player. There is a star or arrow upon each tray, 
showing that it must always be laid upon the table 



28o COMPLETE BRIDGE 

with the arrow pointing in some predetermined direc- 
tion, usually the north, or a selected end of the room. 

All the trays are numbered on the back, and if they 
are played in their numerical order it will be found 
that the deal will rotate as in the ordinary game, from 
right to left. 

When the tray is placed in position, one of the 
pockets will be found marked with the word '' dealer," 
and the player sitting opposite that pocket is the de- 
claring hand for that deal. The trays are distributed 
according to the number of tables engaged and the 
number of hands it is proposed to play. Suppose there 
are twenty tables : table No. i must have tray No. i ; 
table No. 2, tray No. 2, and so on. If a small num- 
ber of tables are engaged, let us say five, table No. i 
may have trays Nos. i, 2, 3 and 4; table No. 2, trays 
Nos. 5, 6, 7, 8, and so on. 

When a tray is played for the first time, the cards 
must be shuffled and dealt in the usual way, but after 
a hand has been once played with any tray, the cards 
must not be shuffled again under any circumstances. 

The declarations, doubling, and leading all follow 
the usual course, but instead of gathering the cards 
into tricks, each player lays the card he plays face up- 
ward in front of him on the table, the dealer calling 
upon the dummy to play certain cards, which are 
simply pushed from the dummy hand toward the edge 
of the tray, which always remains on the table. 



VARIETIES OF BRIDGE 281 



After the trick is complete, the four cards played 
to it are turned down, and are so placed that the cards 
point lengthwise to the partners that win the trick. 
Suppose the dealer wins the first trick. He points his 
card toward his dummy partner, while his adversaries 
lay their cards with the longer side next them. At the 
end of the hand it is easy to count up the number that 
point each way. If the dealer has eight cards pointing 
toward the dummy, and five pointing toward his ad- 
versaries, he must have made two by cards. If there 
is any dispute about the result it is easy to compare 
the various hands. If, let us say, the fourth trick 
shows that the dealer's card and the adversaries' do not 
point in the same direction, the four cards that made 
up the trick can be turned over, in order to see which 
side won the trick. 

The score agreed to and put down, instead of 
shuffling the cards or mixing the hands in any way, 
each player places his thirteen cards face downward in 
the pocket of the tray which he finds opposite him, and 
the tray is then ready to be passed to the next table. 

When a tray containing a hand which has already 
been played arrives at a table, each player must see that 
the arrow points in the proper direction, and he then 
takes out of the pocket opposite him the cards that he 
finds in it. The one who gets the cards from the 
pocket marked " dealer," declares, just as if he had 
actually dealt the hands. 



282 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

After the play of the hand at this second table, the 
cards are again placed in the pockets, and the tray is 
passed on to a third table, and so on, until every table 
in the room has played that tray. When two or more 
trays are given to one table at the start, it is usual to 
play them all before passing any of them. 

After all the trays assigned to one table in the first 
place have been played, the players themselves move. 
All the N. and S. players sit still, but the E. and W. 
players, still retaining the same partnerships, move in 
a direction opposite to that taken by the trays. If the 
trays go from table 4 to table 3, the E. and W. pairs 
go from table 3 to table 4. This brings every E. and 
W. pair to play one round against every N. and S. 
pair, and if five tables are engaged, four deals at each 
table will give a total of twenty in all to complete the 
game. 

In this method, there can be no comparison of the 
score made by those sitting N. and S. with those made 
by the E. and W. players, because they never hold the 
same cards ; therefore there will always be two separate 
winning pairs: those making the best score on the N. 
and S. hands, and those making high score on the E. 
and W. hands. 

What is known as the Howell System is an arrange- 
ment by which every pair may be brought to play 
against every other pair; but it requires special cards 
to be placed on the tables to indicate to the various 



VARIETIES OF BRIDGE 283 

players the table and position they should go to next, 
the movement of both players and trays being too com- 
plicated to be set forth by any simple rule. The 
Howell System admits of any number of tables, odd 
or even. 

The system first described, in which all the N. and 
S. players sit still, is best adapted to an odd number 
of tables. When an even number of tables are in play, 
it will be necessary for all the E. and W. pairs to skip 
a table when they are half way round, or they will 
meet the same tray that they started with. 

When a small number of tables are engaged, such 
as two or three, there is a very simple method of 
changing the oppositions of the pairs, so that each 
shall play against every other, which is called '' up the 
sides and down the middle." The number of tables is 
limited by the condition that all the cards must be 
reshuffled for all the trays after each change of posi- 
tion in the players, or they will meet the same hands 
again. 

Suppose three tables play. The six partnerships 
will require five oppositions or changes of position, 
and if four hands are played in each of these the 
game will be found long enough, unless there is time 
to play thirty deals. 

The N. and S. pair at table No. i sit still throughout 
the whole series, to form a pivot for the other pairs 
to move upon. After the first round, all the E. and 



284 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

W. pairs move up one table, those at table 3 going 
to 2, and those at table 2 going to i. The N. and S. 
pairs move down, those at table 2 going to 3. This 
will require the pair who were E. and W. at table No. 
I to take the N. and S. position at table No. 2, and 
those who were N. and S. at table No. 3 to turn 
round at the same table, and play E. and W. By the 
time five rounds have been played, every pair will 
have met and played against every other pair. 

In this method, if there are three tables, two trays 
may be dealt and played at each table, if there is 
time to play thirty in all. As soon as the two deals 
are played, they are passed to the next table, trays i 
and 2 originally dealt at table No. i, going to table 
No. 2; trays 3 and 4, dealt at table No. 2, going to 
No. 3, and trays 5 and 6, dealt at table No. 3, going 
to No. I. After these have been overplayed, they are 
again passed on in the same manner, so that each 
table must play all the six trays before the players 
move. 

If there is not time to play more than twenty deals, 
one tray is given to each table, tray No. 4 being laid 
aside for the moment. After these three deals have 
been played, tray 2 is passed to table No. i ; tray 3 
to table No. 2, and tray No. 4 is dealt at table No. 3, 
tray No. i being laid aside, ready to be played at table 
No. 3 after tray No. 4 has been passed along. By this 
system, each table will play four deals before changing 



VARIETIES OF BRIDGE 285 



the positions of the players, and each player at every 
table will have a declaration. 

The scores are kept by putting down the total num- 
ber of points made on each hand, trick and honour 
points combined. The winners put them down on the 
plus side, the losers on the minus side. When the 
first system of moving the players is adopted, all the 
N. and S. players sitting still, each pair adds up at 
the end of the game the total number of points won 
and deducts the number of points lost, and the pair 
having the best score is the winner, N. and S. or E. 
and W., as the case may be. 

The best score is arrived at by adding together on 
a blackboard or a large sheet of paper all the scores 
made by the N. and S. pairs, and all those made by 
the E. and W. pairs, in separate columns, of course. 
The total made N. and S. after being added up is 
divided by the number of pairs who sat N. and S., 
and the quotient is the average value of the N. and S. 
hands. If this is a plus, all those who make more 
than the average are winners, the highest plus taking 
first prize. If the quotient is a minus, all those who 
make less than the average minus are winners, be- 
cause they did not lose as much as others, and the 
pair that loses the fewest points on the minus average 
gets the prize. The same process is adopted with the 
E. and W. hands, and it should be obvious that if the 
average of the N. and S. hands is, let us say, 148 



286 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

points plus, the average on the E. and W. hands 
must be 148 points minus, or the scores will not prove. 

When the second system is adopted, up the sides 
and down the middle, the scores are added up at the 
end of each round, before the players move. The total 
won or lost at each table is announced to the umpire, 
who adds up the N. and S. totals and finds the aver- 
age, crediting each pair with what it has lost or won 
and charging the opponents of that pair with the other 
side of the account. At the end of the game, the 
various amounts won and lost by each pair are added 
up and balanced, and the pair that has made the 
greatest gains for the whole sitting is the winner. 

Matches between teams of four are sometimes 
played, and they are probably the most interesting 
form of duplicate. 

The arrangement of the players and trays is very 
simple. The N. and S. pair at one table belong to the 
same team as the E. and W. pair at the other table. 
Two deals are played at each table, and the trays are 
then exchanged, making a total of four trays played. 
It is evident that each team has then held the same 
cards, that is, all thirteen in each deal. The scores 
are then added up, and the team having won the most 
points, after deducting the points made by their ad- 
versaries, is credited on a separate score sheet with the 
amount. 

The E. and W. pair at table No. i then exchange 



VARIETIES OF BRIDGE 287 

places with the N. and S. pair of their own team at 
table No. 2, and four more deals are played and re- 
corded. For the third round, the players on each team 
change partners, and for the fourth round the N. and 
S. at one table change with the E. and W. at the other, 
as before. Partners may again be changed, for the 
next eight deals, so that each member of a team shall 
have played eight deals with each of the others. This 
concludes the match, which will require twenty-four 
deals in all. 



PROGRESSIVE BRIDGE 

In progressive bridge, no duplicate trays are re- 
quired, but an even number of deals, usually four, 
should be played at each table. The partnerships are 
usually ladies and gentlemen, this form of the game 
being best adapted to social gatherings. 

After playing four deals, so that each person at the 
table shall have a declaration, the lower score is de- 
ducted from the higher, and the winners are credited 
with so much plus, the losers being charged with so 
much minus. Trick and honour scores are all added 
together and no notice is taken of games or rubbers. 

At the end of the four deals, when the scores have 
been handed to the umpire, the signal is given to 
change places, usually by a whistle or bell. The losing 
pair at each table sit still, but separate as partners. 
The winning pair go in opposite directions, the lady 
moving to the next greater number, from 4 to 5, and 
the gentleman m_oving to the next lesser number, from 
4 to 3. This is so that they shall not be constantly 
overtaking each other and playing together again. 

Upon arriving at the next table, the lady takes as 
her partner the gentleman who has just lost, and the 

2gS 



PROGRESSIVE BRIDGE 289 



arriving gentleman takes as his partner the lady who 
has just lost. 

At the end of the game, the individual players, a 
lady and a gentleman, who have made the greatest 
plus score, after deducting their losses from their gains, 
take the prizes. 



BRIDGE TOURNAMENTS 

And How to Manage Them 

For social or charitable purposes, it is often de- 
sirable that a large number of players should enter into 
some sort of friendly competition in which all can 
simultaneously take part. In the management of such 
affairs, simplicity and the avoidance of confusion or 
dispute are the principal things to aim at. 

The most amusing, and also the most satisfactory 
to the players, probably because they can understand 
the theory of it better, is to divide the number of 
tables that offer for play into sections, the number in 
each section being such as to admit of about twenty 
deals altogether. 

Any of the systems already described for moving 
the players may be employed. Letting all the N. and 
S. players sit still while the E. and W. partners move, 
is a good plan for sections of five or six tables each. 
Up the sides and down the middle is not adapted to 
large gatherings, because of the small number of 
tables that can be managed in each section, and the 
Howell System is too complicated for those who have 
never seen it before, 

290 



BRIDGE TOURNAMENTS 291 



It may safely be said that no form of duplicate 
should be employed when those who are to take part 
are not famJliar with the management of the trays and 
cards, as they will inevitably mix the hands, turn the 
trays the wrong way, and get the scores hopelessly 
confused. To run a duplicate bridge tournament re- 
quires the services of an expert, who knows how to 
handle large numbers of players and how to keep the 
scores. 

The most satisfactory plan for a tournament to be 
taken part in by those who have never played any- 
thing but the ordinary rubber is the following: 

Arrange the tables in sections of five or six each, 
filling up as many as offer for play. Provide each 
table with two packs of cards, two scoring pads and 
two pencils. Let the players select their own partners 
and sit where they please. Before play begins, lay two 
slips of paper on each table, one white and the other 
coloured, and ask the players sitting N. and S. to write 
their names on the white ones ; those sitting E. and W. 
to write their names on the coloured ones. These 
slips must be previously numbered with the section 
and the table number. These can be gathered up and 
the names entered on the scoring sheets while the first 
round is played. 

Four deals must be played at each table. The 
players may cut for the first deal if they choose, but 
must not cut for partners in this form of the game. 



292 



COMPLETE BRIDGE 



The result of these four deals is looked upon as a 
single game, and the trick points are all scored, no 
matter how much they may pass thirty. The players 
having the greatest number of trick points to their 
credit at the end of the four deals add fifty points 
bonus to their score. The lower score is then deducted 
from the higher, and the result of the subtraction, 
counting up tricks and honours together, is the value of 
the game at that table. 

The umpire's assistant has in the meantime placed 
upon each table two slips, one white and one coloured, 
upon which the partners write their number, which is 
always that of the table at which they begin to play; 
then, in the space provided for it, the number of the 
pair to which they are opposed, and underneath, in 
its proper place, the number of points they win or 
lose. These slips must be printed beforehand for the 
purpose, of course. This is the usual form: 



Table No 

E. &W. pair No 

Opposed to Pair No 

Won Lost . . 

O. K 



The O. K. line is to be filled in with the initials of 
the adversaries, to show that they admit it as correct. 



BRIDGE TOURNAMENTS 293 

When the assistant collects these slips for the purpose 
of entering the results on the scoring sheets, he must 
see that the statement made by the N. and S. pair 
agrees with that made by the E. and W. players. If 
it does not, he must ask them to adjust it. 

The four deals finished and the scores handed in, 
all the E. and W. pairs move to the next table, and 
four more deals are played there. When the E. and 
W. pairs have met and played against all the N. and S. 
pairs in their section, the game is at an end. 

It is quite common for the players at the various 
tables to play for so much a point, just to add a little 
to the interest of the game, the value of the points 
being adjusted to suit the desires of the four engaged 
at the time. 

For these games, large scoring sheets must be care- 
fully ruled in advance, one for each section. If the 
number of players is large, it may be v^ell to restrict 
them to tv^o deals at each table and to put twelve 
tables in a section. This will require the deal to ro- 
tate in regular order, so as to give each player an 
equal number of declarations, and the best plan is to 
let the N. player deal first at every table, then the E. 
player. After changing places at all the tables, the 
S. player must deal the first hand and the W. player 
the second. Then the N. and W. players will deal, 
and so on. 

The score sheets must be separate ones for each 



294 'COMPLETE BRIDGE 

section and also for the N. and S. and the E. and W. 
players. They must be ruled in such a manner that 
the names of the players shall appear at the head of 
double columns, one for plus and the other for minus 
scores. Under the names the numbers should be 
printed, in order to facilitate the entering up of the 
results handed in on the slips. There will be plenty 
of time to enter up all the slips during the play of the 
following four deals, but at the end of the game it 
will take about twenty minutes to add up the totals 
and balance the scores. While this is being done, it is 
usual to serve refreshments of some kind, so that the 
players are not kept waiting in idleness. 

The results will show a N. and S. winning pair, 
and an E. and W. winning pair in each section. If 
there be any special prize, it should go to the partners 
who have made the greatest plus score in any section 
or position. 



KEY TO THE TEST HANDS 



195 



KEY TO THE TEST HANDS 

The explanations given are necessarily brief, being 
intended only to recall to the student the reasons 
already stated in the text. 

1. Hearts; safer than no trumps. 

2. No trumps ; above average, protected in three suits. 

3. No trumps; above average, protected in four suits. 

4. Hearts; safer than no trumps. 

5. Pass; below average. 

6. Hearts; counts 8, and has honours. 

7. Pass; below average; hearts will not count 8. 

8. No trumps; above average, protected in three suits. 

9. Hearts; dummy cannot do better. 

10. No trumps; above average; 30 aces better than 

32 clubs. 

11. Hearts; on account of the 64 for honours. 

12. Hearts, on account of honours. Perhaps no 

trumps. 

13. Hearts; dummy cannot do better. 

14. Diamonds; dummy cannot do better. 

15. Speculative no-trumper. 

16. Speculative no-trumper; dummy cannot do better. 

17. Diamonds, with 48 in honours. 

18. No trumps; above average. 

297 



298 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

19. Diamonds; safer than passing. 

20. Hearts; dummy cannot do better. 

21. Hearts; safer than no trumps. 

22. Spades; weak in both red suits, especially hearts. 

23. No trumps; protected in the red suits. 

24. No trumps; length in hearts protects it. 

25. Clubs; because you have more of them. 

26. Spades; because the clubs are trick-winners. 

27. No. You have not more than 4 tricks. 

28. No. Your spades cannot be reckoned on. 

29. Yes. Your hand should be good for 6 tricks. 

30. No. You have not more than 4 tricks. 

31. No. Your strength will be led through. 

32. Yes. Your honours are all in sequence. 

33. Club K; so as to see dummy's cards. 

34. Spade K; because of two honours in sequence. 

35. Diamond Q; because of three honours in sequence. 

36. Club A; suit is too long to hold tenace. 

37. Heart 5 ; all other suits are worse. 

38. Diamond K; three honours in sequence. 

39. Spade K; to see dummy's cards. 

40. Spade 9 ; other suits are worse. 

41. Heart 3; red in preference to black. 

42. Diamond J ; other suits are worse. 

43. Heart K, red suit; no hurry about trumps. 

44. Spade 10; to show your strength. 

45. Diamond 5 ; the longest suit. 

46. Diamond K; lead one of three top honours. 



KEY TO THE TEST HANDS 



299 



47. Heart 3 ; the longest suit. 

48. Spade Q ; having no re-entry card. 

49. Heart J ; other suits are worse. 

50. Heart 4; red in preference to black. 

51. Three. 

52. Four. 

53. One. 

54. Two. 

55. A, Q; lead is from K, J, 10. 

56. A, K, J; the 9 cannot be fourth-best. 

57. Ace only; leader cannot have it. 

58. A, K, 10; the 8 cannot be fourth-best. 

59. K, Q ; the J must be the top of a weak suit, 

60. Q, J; 10; the 7 cannot be fourth-best. 

61. K,' Q, 9; the 8 cannot be fourth-best. 

62. Play K and return J. 

63. Play 8, return Q. 

64. Play K; return the 10. 

65. Play A; return the 2. 

66. The 9. 

67. The J. 

68. The deuce. 

69. The 9. 

70. The deuce. 

71. The 10. 

72. The 2; fourth hand can beat the 10. 

73. The Q ; only once guarded. 

74. The 2 ; by Eleven Rule, your 9 will win. 



300 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

75. The J, once guarded; same as Q once guarded. 

76. The 8; it is fourchette with your 6. 

77. The 3; let it come up to your 10. 

78. The 2 ; by Eleven Rule, your 8 will win. 

79. The Q ; only chance is that leader has A, K. 

80. The 2; for the Bath Coup. 

81. The A; no Bath Coup with dummy's J twice 

guarded. 
82.' The 4; let the suit run until A, 10 is a tenace. 

83. The club 9; because you must take the finesse in 

clubs before leading trumps, while the diamond 
Q is still guarded. 

84. Win the trick with the K; then get trumps out, 

leading Q as if you were going to finesse, but 
playing A if K does not cover. 

85. Lead clubs, K and 2, so as to discard dummy's 

losing spades on two diamonds and club A. 

86. The 2; hold up until third hand is exhausted. 

87. The A; no use holding up for the Bath Coup, be- 

cause there is little slam in the hand if you 
catch the diamond K. 

88. The K; so as to lead the spade J from that hand 

and finesse. 

89. The K ; then lead small club so as to finesse. You 

cannot finesse in spades, for fear your diamond 
K would be led through if the finesse failed. 

90. The A; keeping the K as a re-entry for the spade 

suit. Then lead clubs from dummy, as you do 



KEY TO THE TEST HANDS 301 

not want to finesse with nine cards between the 
two hands. 

91. The A; with the dangerous club suit against you, 

win the game before you risk anything. ^ 

92. Lead small diamond, finessing the 10, to see if 

dummy has any re-entry. If not, it is useless 
to continue the clubs. 

93. Lead diamonds every time you get in on the other 

suits. 

94. Lead A, K of hearts, and then play diamonds so 

that dummy shall overtake every time. If 
dummy does not win the diamond tricks, the 
adversaries will hold off, so as to kill his re- 
entry. 

95. Finesse everything so that the player on your left 

wins. This will insure your diamond Q 
being led up to. 

96. Pass the first trick, so as to be sure of stopping the 

suit twice, or getting in twice, which will be 
necessary in order to make the spade suit. 

97. Play the A second hand, and make nine tricks at 

once, with the whole diamond suit against you. 

98. Overtake dummy's 10 with your A, so as to make 

a re-entry in dummy's diamonds for the clubs. 

99. Conceal the club suit, and make all your diamonds 

first, afterward putting dummy in with the 
spade A, without attempting any finesse in 
spades. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY OF BRIDGE WORKS 



3°3 



BIBLIOGRAPHY OF BRIDGE WORKS 

Arranged in the alphabetical order of their authors, 
to 1905. From the Bibliography of Card Games, by 
Frederic Jessel. 

Ace of Spades, Theory and Practice of Bridge, 1903. 
H. A. Agacy, Correct Bridge, 1905. 
Fisher Ames, Bridge Whist in Brief, 1904. 
Edwyn Anthony, How to Win at Bridge, 1904. 
Edwyn Anthony, The Complete Bridge-Player, 1905. 
Badminton Magazine, March, 1901, Oct., 1901, Aug., 

1902, April, 1904, and monthly since. 
" Badsworth " (A. L. Lister), Laws and Principles of 

Bridge, 1903. 
Bailey's Magazine of Sports, Oct., 1900, Jan., 1905. 
F. P. Barton, Bridge Simplified, 1905. 
H. M. Beasley, London Bridge, 1905. 
E. Bergholt, Leads at Bridge, 1901. 
Biritch, or Russian Whist, 1886. 
Blackwood's Magazine, March, 1901. 
'' Boaz," Pocket Guide to Bridge, 1894. 
'' Boaz," Laws of Bridge, 1895. 
"Boaz" and ''Badsworth," Laws of Bridge, 1898. 

305 



3o6 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

Bridge Laws, by The Whist Club, N. Y., 1897. 

Marie Bryce, Bridge in Brief, 1904. 

Chambers's Journal, May, 1902. 

E. Chittendon, Modern Bridge, by " Slam," 1901. 

Oswald Crawfurd, Laws of Misery Bridge, 1902. 

W. Dalton, Bridge Abridged, 1901. 

W. Dalton, Bridge at a Glance, 1904. 

Bessie Dickinson, Bridge Abridged, 1902. 

John Doe, Bridge Conventions, 1899. 

John Doe, The Bridge Manual, 1900. 

John Doe, Auction Bridge, 1904. 

Archibald Dunn, Bridge and How to Play It, 1899. 

Archibald Dunn, New Ideas on Bridge, 1902. 

Archibald Dunn, The Bridge Book, 1903. 

H. C. Duval, Bridge Rules in Rhyme, 1902. 

J. B. Elwell, Bridge, Its Principles and Rules of Play, 

1902. 
J. B. Elwell, Bridge Tournament Hands, 1904. 
J. B. Elwell, Advanced Bridge, 1904. 
Fortnightly Review, July, 1901. 
R. F. Foster, Foster's Bridge Manual, 1900. 
R. F. Foster, Foster on Bridge, 1900. 
R. F. Foster, Self-Playing Bridge Cards, 1903. 
R. F. Foster, Foster's Bridge Tactics, 1903. 
R. F. Foster, The Gist of Bridge, 1904. 
R. F. Foster, Bridge Maxims, 1905. 
R. F. Foster, The Bridge Player's Handbook, 1905. 
Gentleman's Magazine, July, 1902. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY OF BRIDGE 307 

" Grim " Elementary Bridge, 1904. 

" Hellespont," Laws of Bridge, 1901. 

"Prof. Hoffmann" (A. J. Lewis), Modern Bridge, 

1899. 

Mrs. J. B. Horton, How to Play Bridge, 1901. 

A. G. Hulme-Beaman, Bridge for Beginners, 1899. 

C. R. Keiley, Laws of Bridge, 1897. 

Lennard Leigh, Bridge Whist, 1901. 

A. J. Lewis, Bridge, 1900. 

A. L. Lister, Laws and Principles of Bridge, 1903. 

A. L. Lister, A Defence of Bridge, by '^ Badsworth," 
1904. 

*' Lynx " Bridge Topics, 1903. 

C. McL. McHardy, Brief Bridge By- Words, 1903. 

C. J. Melrose, Bridge Whist, 1901. 

A. R. Metcalfe, Bridge that Wins, 1905. 

Pall Mall Magazine, Aug., 1901. 

" Pontifex," A Book of Bridge, 1905. 

'' Problematics," Leads at Bridge, 1904. 

" Revoke," The Grand Slam, 1905. 

E. Robertson, The Robertson Rule, 1902. 

E. Robertson & Hyde Wollaston, Bridge Develop- 
ments, 1904. 

H. A. Roome, Hints on Bridge, 1904. 

Colin Smith, Bridge Condensed, 1902. 

K. N. Steele, Simple Rules for Bridge, 1902. 

C. S. Street, Bridge Up to Date, 1903. 

C. S. Street, Sixty Bridge Hands, 1903. 



3o8 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

'' Templar," Bridge, 1904. 

The Monthly Review, Oct., 1901. 

E. A. Tennant, The A, B, C of Bridge, 1901. 

E. A. Tennant, Bridge Up to Date, 1905. 

W. H. Whitfeld, Pocket Laws of Bridge, 1904. 



GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS 



309 



GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS 

A-B; Y-Z, — Letters used to illustrate the positions of 

the players in diagrams. 
Adversaries, — The eldest hand and his partner; the 

opponents of the dealer. 
American Leads. — Variations in the leads from high 

cards, to show the number of cards in the suit. 

Not used in bridge. 
Answer, — The cards laid down by dummy, when the 

dealer declares. 
Ante-penultimate, — The lowest but two of a suit, now 

replaced by the fourth-best lead. 
Bath Coup, — Holding up the combination of A-J 

when a K is led by the player on your left. 
Blocking, — Keeping the highest card of a suit which 

is longer in another hand. 
Blue Peter, — Same as the trump signal, q.v. 
Book, — The first six tricks won by the same partners. 
Bringing in, — Getting the lead and winning tricks 

with the smaller cards of a suit after the higher 

ones have been forced out of the way. 

By Cards, — The number of tricks over the book, as 

two by cards. 

311 



312 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

Command, — The best card of any suit. The power to 
stop it when led. 

Chicane, — A hand to which no trump has been 
dealt. 

Convention, — Any method of play which is established 
by custom, either to give information or to comply 
with certain conditions. 

Coup, — A master-stroke, a brilliant piece of strategy. 

Covering, — Playing a higher card than one led or 
played, but not the best of the suit. 

Cross *Ruff, — Two players alternately trumping differ- 
ent suits. 

Cutting, — Drawing from an outspread pack, or sep- 
arating the pack before the deal. 

Deschapelles Coup, — Sacrificing a high card in one 
hand in order to make an inferior card in another 
hand good for re-entry. 

Discarding, — Throwing away, when unable to follow 
suit. 

Doubling, — Increasing the value of the trick points. 

Doubtful Cards, — Cards which are not the best of the 
suit, but may win the trick if passed. Cards 
which may mean one thing, but appear to mean 
another. 

Ducking, — Refusing to win tricks when able to do so. 

Dummy, — The dealer's partner, after his cards are 
laid down. 

Duplicate, — Any method of playing in which the same 



GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS 313 

hands are played over more than once by different 

sets of partners. 
Echo, — Playing a higher card before a lower, to show 

the number held in the suit. 
Eldest Hand, — The leader for the first trick; the 

player who sits on the dealer's left. 
Eleven Rule, — Deducting the spots on the card led 

from eleven, the remainder being the number 

which are higher than the card led, not in the 

leader's hand. 
Established Suits, — A suit in which every trick can be 

won, no matter who leads it. 
Equal Cards, — Cards which are equally good for any 

purpose, such as K, Q of the same suit. 
Exposed Cards, — Cards which are faced in dealing, 

dropped on the table, or irregularly played to a 

trick. 
Fall of the Cards, — Watching the cards played in any 

suit, so as to judge what other cards the various 

players hold. 
False Cards, — Cards which are intended to deceive the 

opponents as to the true holding in the suit. 
Finesse, — Any attempt to win a trick with a card 

which is not the best of the suit held in the hand. 
First Hand, — The first player to any trick. 
Follow Suit, — To play a card of the suit led. 
Forcing, — To oblige a player to trump a suit when 

he does not wish to do so. 



314 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

Forcing Discards, — Obliging a player to discard a suit 
which is different from the one led. 

Fourchette, — The combination in one hand of the two 
cards immediately above and below the one led. 

Fourth-best, — The fourth card, counting from the top, 
of any suit held in the hand. 

Going Back. — Redoubling. 

Going Over, — Doubling. 

Going Up, — The same as covering. 

Grand Coup, — Trumping a partner's trick, or throw- 
ing away a small trump when the trick has al- 
ready been trumped with a higher one. 

Grand Slam, — Winning all thirteen tricks by one 
side. 

Guarded Cards or Suits. — Cards which must win a 
trick, although not the best of the suit. Suits 
which the adversaries cannot run down against 
you. 

Hand, — The thirteen cards held by any player. The 
entire play of a deal. 

Heart and Strong, — Leading hearts when the pone 
doubles no trumps, and discarding from strength 
always. 

Holding Up the Command, — Keeping the best of the 
suit back until one of the opposing partners is 
exhausted. 

Honours, — ^The A, K, Q, J, lO of the trump suit, or 
the four aces when there are no trumps. 



GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS 315 

Imperfect Fourchettes. — The combination in one hand 

of the card above the one led and the next but 

one below it, such as Q, 9 on a J led. 
Imperfect Pack, — Any pack in which certain cards 

are missing, duplicated, torn, or so marked that 

they can be identified by the backs. 
Indifferent Cards, — Cards of equal value, such as 

Q, J of the same suit. 
Irregular Leads, — Leads which are not from any 

regular high-card combination, and are not 

fourth-best. 
Leading, — Playing the first card to any trick. * 

Leading Away From, — Playing a small card from a 

combination which would be much better if led 

up to, such as leading from king and others, the 

ace not having been played. 
Leading Through, — Putting the second player on any 

trick at a disadvantage, such as leading Q and J 

through a K in the dummy, when the third hand 

holds the ace. 
Leading Up To, — Leading to a combination in the 

fourth hand, such as the eldest hand leading to the 

dealer. 
Little Slam, — ^The same partners winning twelve out 

of the thirteen tricks. 
Long Suits. — Suits containing four or more cards. 
Long Trump, — The last trump in play. 
Losing Cards,— Cards which cannot possibly win 



3i6 COMPLETE BRIDGE 



tricks, and which will be won by the adversaries 

if they are not got rid of. 
Losing Trumps, — Trumps which may be drawn by 

the opponents. 
Love-all. — Nothing scored on either side. 
Make, — The declaration is often called the make. 
Master Card, — The best left in play of any suit which 

has already been led. 
Misdeal, — Any failure in the proper distribution of 

the cards. 
Missing Suits, — Suits which the player holds no card 
' of. 
Odd Trick, — The seventh won by the same partners; 

the first trick over the book. 
Opening Lead, — The selection of the suit by the eldest 

hand for the attack. 
Original Lead, — The first card played in any suit. 
Passing Tricks, — Letting the opponents win tricks 

with cards which are not the best, or refusing to 

trump winning cards. 
Penultimate, — The lowest but one of a suit; now re- 
placed by the fourth-best lead. 
Plain Suits, — Suits which are not trumps. 
Pone. — The partner of the eldest hand; the player 

who cuts the cards for the dealer. 
Quart Major, — The A, K, Q, J of any suit. 
Quitting, — Removing the fingers from a trick after 

it has been turned down. 



GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS 317 

Redoubling, — Doubling again after the other side has 

doubled. 
Re-entry Cards, — Cards which will bring another suit 

into play. 
Renounce, — Failure to follow suit, having none. 
Revoke, — Failure to follow suit when able to do so. 
Rubber. — The first two games out of three. 
Ruffing. — Trumping plain suits. 
Running. — Making all the winning cards in the hand 

at once. 
Second Hand. — The second player in any trick. 
Seesaw. — The same as cross ruff, q.v. 
Sequence. — Cards which are next in value to one an- 
other, such as Q, J, 10. 
Short Suits, — Suits of less than four cards. 
Shuffling, — Any method of disarranging the cards so 

that no trace of their former order remains. 
Singleton, — Only one card of a suit dealt to a player. 
Slams. — Winning all thirteen tricks is a grand slam; 

winning twelve out of thirteen is a small slam. 
Sneak, — A singleton which is led for the purpose of 

trumping the second round of the suit. 
Still Pack, — The pack which is not in play when two 

packs are used. 
Stopper, — A card that will stop the run of an adverse 

suit. 
Strong Suits, — Suits in which a number of tricks are 

possible. 



3i8 COMPLETE BRIDGE 

Supporting Cards, — Cards which may help the part- 
ner if led or played, but are unlikely to win 
tricks in the hand of the holder. 

Tenace, — The combination in one hand of the best 
and third best of a suit, such as A, Q. 

Third Hand, — The third player in any trick. 

Throwing the Lead, — Putting a player in, so as to 
make him lead to his disadvantage. 

Trump Signal, — Playing a higher card before a lower 
when it is not necessary to do so, as a signal that 
you want trumps led. Not used in bridge. 

Unblocking, — Getting out of the way of a suit which 
is longer in another hand. 

Underplay, — Leading or playing any card which is 
not the best of the suit, when the best would 
otherwise be led. 

Weak Suits, — Suits which contain no winning cards, 
or only one possible trick. 

Weak Trumps, — Trumps which are useless except for 
ruffing. 

Yarborough, — A hand which contains no card higher 
than a nine when dealt to the player. 



COMPLETE INDEX 



319 



COMPLETE INDEX 



Ace-king alone, 129 

A J 10 divided, 210 

A J 10 finesse, 256 

Ace leads, 129 

Ace queen divided, 209 

Aces at no trumps, 59 

Add to partner's information, 135 

Advantage of the concealed hand, 

251 
Advantage of finessing, 254 
Advantage of the lead, 114 
Adversaries losing tricks, 50 
Adversaries never finesse, 1 54 
Adversaries' score, 81 
Adversaries should lead trumps, 226 
An average hand, 45 
Answer, dummy's, 78 
Australian rule, 58 

Beat dummy's cards, 187 
Beginners should avoid doubling, 92 
Better declarations than black, 67 
Black trump calls, 65 

Chance of w^inning game, 66 
Changing suits, 146, 188 
Chicane, 37 

Counting sure tricks, 234 
Counting up trump calls, 64 



Cover dummy's cards, 187 
Covering honours w^ith honours, 215 
Covering jack with ace, 124, 215 
Cross-ruffing, 224 

Dealer's declarations, 42 
Dealer's discards, 204 
Dealer leading trumps, 218 
Dealer leads irregularly, 134 
Dealer unblocking himself, 184 > 
Defensive trump calls, 70 
Defensive trump leads, 108 
Diamond calls, 68 
Directive discards, 197 
Discarding strength, 198 
Discarding weakness, 197 
Distribution of strength, 54 
Doubling no-trumpers, 98 
Doubling trump calls, 99 
Down-and-out echo, 156 
Ducking and underplay, 263 
Dummy calling diamonds, 79 
Dummy protecting red suits, 76 
Dummy weak in red, 78 
Dummy's answer, 78 
Dummy's possibilities, 66 

Eight rule, for trump calls, 64 
Eleven Rule, 170 



321 



322 



INDEX 



Eleven Rule for the dealer, 212 



Elimination, 238 
Established suits, 114 
Exceptions to leading trumps, 222 
Exercises on average hands, 47 

False cards, 260 

Fatality about diamond calls, 68 

Finessing, 253 

Finessing against the dangerous hand, 

260 
Finessing positions, 254 
Five-trick no-trumpers, 57 
Following with fourth-best, 137 
Forcing yourself, 223 
Four aces always no trumps, 60 
Fourchettes, 215 
Fourth-best leads, 133 

Get a look at dummy, 102 
Getting position for finesse, 258 
Giving dealer information, 134 
Giving partner information, 127 
Guarded suits, 55 

Hands on which to declare, 48 

Hands on which to pass, 48 

Heart and strong, 126 

Heart convention, 124 

Heart led to doubled no-trumps, 99 

Hearts instead of no-trumps, 60 

Hearts safer than no-trumps, 77 

High cards as good as trumps, 80 

High cards divided, 209 

High cards from the short hand, 184 

High cards played second hand, 208 



Holding up the command, 241 
Honours at no-trumps, 59 
Honours in black suits, 69 
Honours in diamonds, 69 
Honours in hearts, 61 
Honours in trumps, 70 

Imperfect fourchettes, 216 
Importance of correct leading, 132 
Importance of number in trumps, 63 
Inference from leads, 153 
Irregular leads, 138 

Jack leads, 131 

Keeping the lead, 244 
King jack divided, 209 
King leads, 128 
Knave leads, 131 

Leader changing suits, 146 

Leading aces, 104 

Leading ace from seven cards, 140, 

142 
Leading against no trumps, 139 
Leading against trumps, 103 
Leading black suits to passing hand, 

113 
Leading from A Q J, 137 
Leading from K Q J, 136 
Leading Q from A Q J, 140 
Leading red in preference to black, 

112 
Leading short suits, no 
Leading through, 93 
Leading through dummy, 144 



INDEX 



323 



Leading through strength, 145 
Leading to doubled trumps, 113 
Leading to dummy, 186 
Leading to dummy's weakness, 190 
Leading trumps to dummy, 192 
Leading up to honours, 192 
Lead winning cards, 135 
Learning the leads, 127 
Length at no trump, 142 
Long-suit openings, 115 

No-trump calls, 56 
No trump instead of diamonds, 
61 

Opening short suits at no trump, 

116 
Opening with a red suit, 124 
Over-calling dummy's hands, 75 

Pip-counting no-trumpers, 57 
Plain-suit echo, 162 
Pone doubling no-trumpers, 99 
Position in doubling, 93 
Practice for eleven rule, 171 
Practice in doubling, 100 
Practice in opening leads, 126 
Protected suits, 55 
Protective discards, 200 
Protective makes, 67 

(^ueen leads, 131 

Reading cards, 152 
Refusing to call diamonds, 68 
Remembering honour values, 37 



Return leads, 186 
Reverse discards, 204 
Risking kings second hand, 253 
Robertson rule, 58 

Score, importance of, 81 
Scoring, various ways of, 38 
Secondary leads, 135 
Second and third best, 136 
Second best, third hand, 164 
Second hand on high cards, 214 
Second round, 1 84 
Seeing dummy's cards early, 105 
Selecting suit to go for, 247 
Seven rule at no trumps, 58 
Showing what you hold, 1 54 
Slams, 37 

Small card leads, 133 
Speculating on dummy's cards, 70 
Speculative no-trumpers, 56 
Strength of small trumps, 63 

Tenaces, 112 

Ten lead, i 32 

Ten not an honour, 215 

Test hands for dealer's play, 217 

Test hands for declaring, 74 

Test hands for doubling, 100 

Test hands for dummy's calls, 84 

Test hands for leading, 143 

Test hands for the pone, 194 

Test hands for trump management, 

232 
Third-best leads, 138 
Third hand at no-trumps, 16? 
Third hand changing suits, 18? 



324 INDEX 



Third hand never finesses, 154 Unblocking, 178 

Third-hand play at trumps, 152 Underplay and ducking, 263 
Three aces calling no trumps, 

61 Value of knowledge, 50 

Training the eye with actual cards, Value of winning a game, 82 

44 Various ways of scoring, 38 
Trump declarations, 62 

Trump management, 218 Wanting partner to lead, 148 

Trumps as opening leads, 108 Weak and weak, 126 

Trusting dummy's judgment, 72 Weak-suit leads, no 

Two-suit no-trumpers, 56 Winning tricks cheaply, 155 



